THE EARLY HISTORY OF WARNHAM
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CONTENTS
The Origins of the Settlement
Early settlement in the area
The Shelleys of Warnham
The Manorial System before the
Normans
The Pilfolds of Warnham
The Norman Occupation
The Clearing in the Forest
The Seventeenth Century
First mention of a Manor of
Warnham
Transportation & Communication
The existence of the Church in
Warnham
Notes on Farming in Warnham
The Twelfth and Thirteenth
Centuries
The History of the Older Houses of
Disintegration of Feudal rights
& the Manor System
Warnham
The Manor of Warnham and Denn in
Warnham
The Other Manors
The Manor of Hollands.
Manor of Slaughterford and Powers
The Fourteenth & Fifteenth Centuries
The Sixteenth Century and the
Reformation.
The Iron Industry
APPENDICES
I. The de Braoze succession
II. The Nunnery of St Mary Magdalene,
Rusper
III. Early Warnham Inhabitants
IV. The Manor of Slaughterford,
claimants in the succession
V. The Carylls of Warnham, West
The Carylls of Warnham
The Mychells or Michells
The Rapleys
Harting & West Grinstead
VI. Inquest Post Mortem, John Carrell
1566
VII. Michell of Stammerham & Field
Place, Warnham
VIII. A) Michell of Thecchers, Warnham
The Agates
B) Michell of Stammerham, junior
branch
The Chantry Lands
C) Michell of Mayes in Warnham
IX. Vicars of Warnham
The Church of Warnham
X. The Pilfolds of Warnham
XI. The Shelleys of Warnham
The Farming Community
XII. The Agates of Warnham
THE EARLY HISTORY OF WARNHAM
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THE ORIGINS OF THE SETTLEMENT
Warnham is not mentioned in the Domesday Book and it is doubtful if it existed
as a settlement before that time (1086), though its name springs from AngloSaxon roots; perhaps a combination of the Anglo-Saxon personal name Werna, and
ham(m), a settlement or dwelling place. But Werna has also been translated as
Old English for Stallion - the Dwelling Place of the Stallion — and this would
certainly seem coincidental, situated as it is, so close to Hors — ham. However
there is no evidence that the origin of the latter is anything to do with the
equine species. In fact the usual suggestions are that Horsham originated either
from Horsa, the Jutish leader, or from Hurst — ham (the Wood place or dwelling).
Early settlement in the area
Although there is evidence of some development of an iron industry in the
Crawley area in Roman Times which indicates that there was organised life in the
northern part of Sussex in those times, and the makers of Stane street must have
passed nearby at Rowhook, there is nothing to suggest that there would have been
any lateral diversions from the latter passing through the forest and scrub of
which most of this part of the country would have consisted at that time. During
the later Anglo—Saxon period there was almost certainly a growth in isolated
settlements in the forest and we know that Horsham was one of these as it is
mentioned in the Charter of the Manor of Washington granted by Eadred of Sussex
in 947 A.D. Denne in Horsham and Pict Hill are supposed to have been the site of
an earlier battle between the Picts and the Danes.
The Manorial system before the Normans
The Manorial system of rule had evolved from a much earlier time and was
consolidated about the end of the 9th Century by King Alfred, who absorbed
Sussex into the kingdom of Wessex. With the organisation of the kingdom into
Shires and Hundreds all, or almost all, the land that did not belong to the
Bishops and the Church, belonged to the King and was held of him as Manors with
their demesne lands by their Lords, usually Earls or Thegns. The villeins or
cottars in their settlements (or vills) who farmed strips in the common fields
and grazed the common pastures, nearly all held their land of the Lord and owed
servile obligations of one sort or another to the Lord of the Manor, usually in
the form of labour on the demesne lands. Those who lived in outlying areas with
their own small holdings, usually in more isolated settlements, were known as
bordars and also owed service to the Lord. All these peasants were bound
together in Tithings under a system of law, known as frankpledge where each
member of the tithing was held responsible for the good behaviour of the other
members. Cases of law breaking were heard at what was known as a view of
frankpledge, from which eventually derived the Manorial Courts Leet or Courts
Baron.
But this simple and tidy administrative system could not persist as more
and more land was opened up for habitation and cultivation and people became
more dispersed. As in the case of Washington and Horsham, many Manors held land
scattered over two or more hundreds and even in different shires, and the manors
themselves might cover a number of vills, with their own demesne lands and
common fields.
The Norman Occupation
There is no evidence however of such a settlement in Warnham before Norman
times and there is no mention of Warnham in the Domesday Book. Neither, however,
is there mention of Horsham which, presumably, was included under Washington.
The Normans had difficulty in adapting this scattered system of government to
their administrative needs which were primarily concerned with holding their new
conquest and thus with their lines of communication. Accordingly they divided
Sussex into six Rapes, running North and South from the coast to the Kent and
Surrey borders, each based on a main castle or fort, adjacent to a seaport.
Control therefore developed in a South-North direction.
This part of the County fell into the Rape of Bramber, under the
overlordship of William de Braoze, one of William I's Commanders in the conquest
of Britain. Besides Lordship of the Rape, he held 41 Manors in various parts of
Sussex and Wessex. His main base was the Castle of Bramber, adjacent to what was
then the sea port of Steyning, and subsequently he or his successors had castles
at Knepp and Sedgwick near Horsham. There is also evidence of a motte and
bailey, a typical form of Norman fortification, at Chennellsbrook, near Roffey,
probably used later mainly as a hunting lodge.
The clearing in the forest
Thus Wernham or Werneham, as it first appears, probably started as a
clearing in the forest about the end of the eleventh century, as an outlying
part of another manor, perhaps Steyning, used for pasturing swine. Steyning is
suggested as development under the Norman administration is likely to have
spread northwards from the more populated southern part of the Rape. Certainly
in the Subsidy Rolls of 1296 and later, as we shall see, Werneham formed part of
the Hundred of Steyning. The Hundred of Singlecross, of which Warnham
subsequently formed a part, was a later creation consisting of Warnham, Rusper,
Roffey and Nuthurst with the Borough of Horsham, which became a borough in 1295,
excluded. It is however also possible that Warnham may at some time have been
part of the possession of the Manor of Sullington, through its connection with
the Manor of Slaughterford, q.v. the Parish of Sullington to this day includes a
detached portion of land adjoining Broadbridge Heath and Horsham.
This theory of a swine pasture is supported by the fact that part of the
Manor of Warnham, when it was established, was known as the Manor of Denn in
Warnham. Den is the Anglo—Saxon word for an area of swine-pasturing remote from
the settlement to which it belongs. This is known to have been a common practice
in Kent and Sussex, as still shown in many Kentish place names, such as
Tenterden, Rolvenden, etc. Pannage, the payment, probably in kind as a number of
hogs, for the right to feed pigs in the woods, would have been paid to the
principal overlord; probably directly to the de Braozes who, with their Norman
friends, certainly used this part of the forest, from their Manor of Chesworth,
or the castles at Sedgwick or Knepp, for hunting, one of their main
preoccupations.
first mention of Manor of Warnham
The earliest known mention of a Manor of Warnham occurs in 1272 in the
Inquisition post mortem of William de Say who had held the custody of the Manor
from Henry III (1216-72) during his lifetime. This states that the manor should
be delivered to John de Bretagne "by reason of the custody of the lands and
heirs of William le Marshal * granted to the said John by Henry III, because the
Manor is of the same heirs".
* William le Marshal, first Earl of Pembroke was a favourite of
Henry II & Richard I, and Regent of England 1216 in the reign of
King John. He died in 1219. This reference probably concerns
William le Marshal second Earl of Pembroke, who died in 1231. He
married, as second wife, Henry III's sister Eleanor. His
daughter Eva married William de Braoze (the 5th William), who
was hanged by the Welsh in 1230, and was succeeded as Lord of
Bramber by his cousin John de Braoze. The Manor was presumably
passed to William le Marshal as part of the dowry by William de
Braoze and later confirmed by Henry III.
A pedigree of the de Braoze family is included as Appendix I.
The existence of a Church in Warnham in 1204
It is also known that there was a church or chapel founded by the de
Braozes, probably on the site of the present church, in Warnham before 1204 and
that the impropriation of this, together with certain lands was given by Lord
William de Braoze, the then Lord of Bramber, (and possibly he who was hanged by
the Welsh) to the Nunnery of St. Mary Magdalene at Rusper. This was founded of
the Benedictine Order by Gervaise, Archbishop of Canterbury in the reign of
Richard I (1189-99) — see Appendix II.
The 12th and 13th Centuries
Thus there was almost certainly a small settlement centred on Warnham by
the middle of the 12th Century, with outlying farmsteads, probably grazing swine
in small pastures on the edge of the surrounding forests.
This pattern of outlying farmsteads probably housing bordars (as there is
no evidence of common fields) is borne out in the Lay Subsidy rolls of 1296,
1327 and 1333 (See Appendix III) which give an indication not only of the
relative wealth of the inhabitants but, by their names, show the locality of
their holdings, such as John de Kyngesfolde,** Ad atte Shirmark, William &
Robert atte Rye (now Chatfolds), Walter atte Farthing, Richard atte Bechette
(Bitchetts), Stephan de Sloghterforde (now Endes), William de Weston, John de
Langenhurst, Richard atte Douwehok (Daux), John atte Sonde (Sands) Richard le
Theccher (Geerings), Simon & Ranulf do Blackstrod (Strood) Henry atte Rowehok,
and others.
** In 1505 John de Kingesfolde originally held lands in Rusper,
possibly including the site which is known as the Moated
House, but having a dispute with the rector over the tithes
he moved into the parish of Warnham, establishing a new
settlement which is now Kingsfold.
In the subsequent centuries this pattern of farms outlying from the
village is perpetuated and there seems to have been little problem or
disagreement about enclosure of common lands in the later years. As these farms
gradually expanded further areas were reclaimed from the forest until their
boundaries became continuous, culminating in the pattern of farms much as it was
in the nineteenth century. No doubt there were disputes about the boundaries,
but the question of enclosure of large areas by the Lords of the Manor does not
seem to have arisen.
It is not clear what was the status of those early farmers named above;
whether they were freemen or villeins (cottars or bordars) though it is unlikely
to have been the former if they were rated sufficiently wealthy to pay the
subsidy in money, rather than in kind or service. But by this time the strict
manorial structure had deteriorated and our records show that, although duty in
kind or service was still payable to the overlord, the title or tenancy, both of
manors and of many of the various messuages and lands, had become sub-divided
between either a number of descendants or new purchasers, to an extent that it
is not easy to determine who actually lived in the place or who collected a rent
on the property. As we shall see l/5th moieties of the Manor of Denn in Warnham
were being quit-claimed in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
The disintegration of Feudal rights and the Manor system
It has been possible to trace the custody and/or ownership of the Manor of
Warnham and Denn in Warnham from 1272 down to the early part of the 20th century
although somewhat indistinctly at times.
This disintegration of the Manor and its titles was common everywhere and
was due to a number of causes which we need not go into here though it is
appropriate to mention some of them - the main reason was the strengthening and
development of the central authority of the King, during the reign of the
Plantagenet kings and the institution of justice through itinerant Judges and
the Assizes. Both these factors tended to reduce the authority of the tenant in
chief, the Lord of the Manor, and of the Hundred Courts as more responsibilities
were placed on the County Courts and the Justices of the Peace. As more land was
opened up and brought under cultivation greater wealth was created and new
landowners appeared on the scene. The Churches and Abbeys, the new Guilds and
Chartered, as well as individual, owners, from the rising middle class engaged
in commerce, became interested in the land. Lords aspiring to the heavenly life
left property to the Church, while the more avaricious were tempted by the
reward of profit on sales of their land. Titles became divided due to the
conventions of feudal heritage, by marriages, and sometimes lost altogether by
royal confiscations or disposals to new tenants in chief. The Manor Courts
became little more than land registering and rent collecting bodies for the
tenant in chief or the Lord, who lived elsewhere. The services became more
nominal and often the demesne lands too were sold off. The role of the Manor
lapsed, too, in the administration of the local agriculture, especially where
there were no areas of common land to be administered. New so called, or
"reputed" Manors were created as the new owners took over areas of land in the
15th and l6th century.
Eventually, and this was certainly the case with the Manors of Warnham and
Denn in Warnham, the Manor disposed of nothing more than the residual wastes and
collected purely nominal rents or dues on few of the lands which had originally
comprised the Manor.
The Manor of Warnham and Denn in Warnham
Following the death of William de Say in 1272 the custody of the Manor of
Warnham passed to John de Bretagne, and in 1311 John de St. John, to whom it had
passed, sold it to William de Taverner.
In 1319 the Manor of Den in Warnham passed through his wife, Margaret
D'Oyley, an heiress of the Tregoz family, to Sir John D'Oyley. There was
apparently no son, so the Manor passed through the marriage of their daughter,
Joanne D’Oyley, with Sir Thomas Lewknor and on to their son, John de Lewknor, in
1375, and then through the latter's daughter, Jane, who married John Bartellot
of Stopham (who died in 1473). Thus it came into the Bartellot family where it
remained until 1650 when the site of the manor, at present unidentified but
possibly the site of the present Denn Farm, and the demesne lands were severed
from the Manor by Deed of Partition and passed to Christopher Coles of
Pulborough, a Son—in-law of Walter Bartellot (1585-1640).
By this time the status and holdings of the manor and their titles had
changed very considerably, as from the records it is clear that there were then
a number of substantial land holders, such as the Carylls and the Mitchells,
holding by purchase or by lease, considerable properties in the parish of
Warnham. There were also at least two other manors, Slaughterford and Hallamps
(later Hollands) on the land which now comprises that parish.
Records show a number of plaintiffs in fines for the Manor of Den in
Warnham or parts of it, particularly in the 17th & 18th centuries.
These include :—
1616
John Younger of Capel & Warnham, (who also
claimed the Manor of Slaughterford in 1622).
1635
Arthur Middleton.
1650
Philip Wilshere, who presumably claimed the
residue of the manor after the partition of the demesne
lands to Christopher Coles. The Wilsheres too were at
one time claimants for a moiety of the Manor of
Slaughterford. (See later.)
In 1695 the Manor was successfully claimed by John Evershed of Evershed in
Surrey. From the evidence of deeds of certain farms (notably Geerings, then
known as Thecchers, later Thatchers or Hills), this included the ownership of
part of the land of the original manor but not the whole of it. It is probable
that much of the land with the moieties of the title to the Manor had been split
off at an earlier date, perhaps during the earlier Bartellot Lordship. In fact
many of the suits in the Feet of Fines in 17th & 18th century concern moieties
of 1/5th part of the Manor.
This part of the title, anyway, passed from John Younger to his nephew and
devisee George Luxford, who conveyed it to John Collier of Hastings and thence,
in 1794, to the latter's grandson Edward Milward. He sold it in 1806 to John
Lanham of Horsham. The latter sold it in turn in 1814 to the Duke of Norfolk,
and it was finally purchased with the site of the original manor in 1821,
together with several other farms in the northern and eastern part of the
parish, by John Schudi Broadwood, who also had large estates in Rusper and in
Surrey. Most of these titular lords would appear to have been non—resident, but
claiming the hereditory rents and other dues.
Another title to the Manor of Warnham, and the last surviving one which
can be traced to recent times, was purchased by Henry Cowper Esq. Of Strood
Park, M.P. for Horsham, in 1690. From him the Manor, but the ownership of only a
small part of the Warnham parish land adjoining Strood, passed to his daughter
Sara, who married Richard Upton, an East India Merchant Captain; and from them
to their daughter Anne, who married General John Leland. He retained the title
until 1801 when he sold it, together with Strood Park, to John William Commerell
Esq., High Sheriff of Sussex. The last titular Lord of the Manor of Warnham &
Denn in Warnham was Lt. Col. Thomas Faulkner Wisden of Broadwater,,who died in
1904, and then his executors who, by 1914, had finally disenfranchised most of
the residual land in ownership of the Manor, much of this having passed to the
Warnham Court estates of the Lucas family.
Although Mr.Broadwood is said to have owned the site of the original Manor
of Denn in Warnham, no trace has been found of any manorial domicile in Warnham
itself, and this would tend to confirm again that the appointment was latterly a
titular one, probably run by the Lord from elsewhere in the County, merely
farming the rents and hereditary dues, but only occasionally undertaking the
regulating responsibilities of the Courts through his steward or bailiff. This
would almost certainly be the case during the Lordship of the Bartellots who
would have resided at Stopham.
There are few traces of Manorial Rolls, though the Rolls for l642 and 1793
are known to be in possession of the Sussex Archaealogical Trust. *
* There are also records in the Horsham Museum of two
Summonses of Courts Baron of the Manors of Warnham and Denn in
Warnham summoned by the then Lords, John William Commerell on
20th 0ct.1828 and William Augustus Commerell on 8th 0ct. 1851,
at Nob House in Warnham, sometimes known as Court Hall, for
the Manors of Warnham & Clympsfold, and at Court House, Field
Place Lane, for the Manor of Denn in Warnham. These were only
formal calls to "Persons owing suit and service to the said
Courts" requiring them "personally to be and appear to do &
perform the same - and the several tenants desired to
discharge all arrears of quit rents up to Michaelmas". There
are also copies of the Rent Rolls for 1720, 1807 & 1840.
The other Manors
There is, of course, no evidence to show that the area of lands covered by
the Manors of Warnham and of Denn in Warnham, so far as they can be
distinguished, corresponded with the present area of the parish - indeed the
evidence is against it, for at least two other estates styled as Manors at one
time or another existed within these boundaries. There are also indications from
documents that Langhurst and certain other areas to the East may have originally
been within the parish.
One of these other Manors, the Manor of Slaughterford alias Powers or
Poors, certainly existed from very early times, though whether independently or
as part of the Manors of Broadbridge or Sullington, which adjoined it, cannot be
confirmed. This Manor probably included the land now comprising most of the
Endes Place estate.
The Manor of Hollands
The other former Manor within the parish was known as the Manor of
Hallamps or Hollands and was probably of much later origin as a "reputed Manor"
perhaps early 16th century. It covered land forming part of the village itself
and part of the present Warnham Park lands. There was a Manor House (of
Hallamps) in Warnham in the l7th and 18th century on the site of what is now the
Red House and Holland House, and perhaps earlier, as the Manor is listed as part
of the lands held by John Caryll (or Carrell) Esq., who died in 1566, and later
in the l8th century this land was in the ownership of the Michell family.
The assumption may be made that the demesne and other lands included in
the original Manor of Denn in Warnham were in the northern part of the present
parish, perhaps centred on Denn Farm and stretching southward to the village
itself, whilst the Manors of Warnham, Hollands were in the southern part of the
parish, with the Manor of Slaughterford owning most of the land in the western
part of the parish.
The Manor of Slaughterford alias Powers or Poors
This comprised a portion of the Warnham lands covering a part of what is
now the Endes Place estate, extending nearly to Rowhook and Strood. It is
believed to have belonged in the time of King Henry III (1216-1272) and Edward I
(1272-1307) to the Covert family, Sir William de Covert held two knights fees of
William de Braoze, for the Manors of Bradebridge (Broadbridge) and Sullington.
(These lands are reputed to have come to Sir William by his marriage with the
daughter and heiress of Thomas or Richard Aguylon*, and passed to their son Sir
Roger de Covert).
* The Aguylons owned land in Warnham, as is shown by two
fines in 1374, when Hugh Aguylon and his wife Joan, quit
claimed a messuage and two acres of land each to Henry
Wellere and Alice his wife and to John Godfrey and Alice
his wife, for their lives for a rent of one rose per
annum. It is possible that the Slaughterford land also
came to Sir William Covert on his marriage to the Aguylon
daughter.
The Slaughterford land was given in marriage with Sir Roger's daughter
Isabel, to Stephen de la Poer, or Power, who held it together with the Manor of
Thakeham between 1296 and 1355, when he died, leaving the estates jointly to the
two de la Poer daughters, Marget and Joan. They married, respectively, Stephen
Apsley and John Clothall. One moeity of the estate, the Manors of Thakeham &
Slaughterford remained with the Apsley family until the death of Edward Apsley
in 1651. In 1407 John Apsley settled a messuage with 2 gardens, 10 acres of
arable land, 4 acres of meadow and 30 acres of pasture on Roger Cradel and Alice
his wife, probably a member of the family. This would be the beginning of
Cradles Farm, which for so long formed part of the Endes estate. The other
moeity passed through marriages from the Clothalls to the Wilsheres (or Wilsha)
and to Ralph Bellingham in 1532, and then to Richard Boys of Haskhurst in 1605.
The Manor of Slaughterford with tenements in Warnham was quit-claimed to
John Ide or Ede from John Apsley in 1547. It was held by this family until 1591
when James Ede died and was buried in Warnham. It was seemingly purchased by
John Berde in that year and held until 1622 when it was claimed by John Younge
who also claimed the Manor of Denn in Warnham and a view of frank-pledge (the
right to hold a Court) in 1616. There were then a succession of claimants and in
1639 Slaughterford came into the possession of the Yates or Yeates fami1y**, in
which it probably remained until the end of the 18th century, though claimed in
1751 by Sir John Mi1ler, Bart. and in 1763 by John Martyn, gent. (It is
difficult to decide whether the property left the Yates family on these
occasions as in both cases the Yates family and their connections are shown as
deforciants. The fines might be concerned with mortgages or rearrangements
through marriage. A daughter Margaret, of Sir John Miller, married Thomas Yates
about 1710.
** The Yates had an interest in land including Warnham Place
and Warnham Mill at the end of the 17th century.
About 1795 Endes Place and the estate with the Manor became the property
of Matthew & Sarah Napper, probably by purchase, through Samuel Dendy, father of
Sarah Napper.
The Old House, as it was known, at Endes must have been on the site from
the earliest times. Knights of the Golden Spurs are reputed to have lived there
in the time of Henry II. The building had a mediaeval hall, and was added to or
rebuilt about 1660. During the early part of the 19th century the gateway of the
Hall Court fell down and in the foundation was found a silver spoon with the
date 1660 and a posy ring of gold with the inscription "The gift of a faithful
friend."
Note. The Old House is shown as a Manor House on Richard
Budgeons map of 1724.
At the beginning of the 19th century it was a self—contained
establishment, almost a village on its own, with its stables, kennels, bakery,
brew & slaughterhouses, forge, laundry and farm buildings with over 1000 acres
including flax (from which its own linen was spun) and hops. Traces of the
original carp ponds exist on the estate.
In the time of Dendy Napper (1778-1820), Matthew & Sarah's eldest son, the
estate was run down, considerable parts were sold off on his death to meet
debts.* The Old House was burnt down in 1830. A smaller farm house was built in
replacement and became part of the estates of Mr. R.C. Barnett of West House,
and later Mr. Edmund Farmer until, in 1908, it was bought by Mr. C.B. Gregson
and extensively rebuilt and the estate again built up.
* When Dendy Napper died in 1820 he still owed the liability
for quit rent and heriots to the Lord of the Manor of Warnham,
J.W.Commerell, for Benland, Betchetts, Cradles, Lower Poors,
West House and Tullets, and surrendered a mare or gelding as
heriot for each property.
The Fourteenth & Fifteenth Centuries
Little is known about the inhabitants of the Parish during the 14th and
early part of the 15th century, but a pattern of holdings with messuages and
land, varying from 40 to 100 acres, can be traced from the early records of
fines between 1280 and 1500, although it is not possible to identify the actual
holdings.
From the Feet of Fines and from certain of the Calendars of Patent and
Close Rolls already extracted, the following are selected as examples, giving an
idea of the size of the holdings, if not their site:1280 William and Matilda le Fest received a messuage and ½\virgate of land in
Warnham from William de la Laye for 1-lb of Cummin at Easter for all
services.
l309 William atte More and Joan, his wife, were granted one messuage and 16
acres with appurtenances in Warnham.
1331 Alice, Juliana and Agnes, daughters of Michael atte Hill, received 3
messuages and 60 acres of land in Warnham.
1341 Richard le Feste and his heirs received from Walter Randolph a messuage, 80
acres of land, 3 acres of meadow and 3 shillings rent in Warnham.
1367 Philip and Joan le White received a messuage, 48 acres of land and 2 acres
of meadow in Warnham from her Father, John Stott.
1379 Richard Sloghterforde and Giles atte Shyremark, claimed a messuage with 34
acres of arable land and 2 acres of wood from William Grayling and Alice his
wife.**
** Graylings was at one time the name of the property which is
now Lower Chickens.
1429 Adam Tanner and William and Joan White claimed 3 messuages, 60 acres of
land, 6 acres of meadow and 21 pence rent with appurtenances in Warnham
from Philip Rumbern.
1444 Thomas & Agnes Ffulmere and John and Agnes Roo claimed a messuage, 54 acres
of land, 2 acres of wood, and 2 acres of meadow with appurtenances in Warnham
from William Clouser de Warnham.*
* The Clousers owned land in Warnham, known as the
Farthingland, about this time. This had been inherited in
Henry III's time, about 1250, and the Clousers were still the
owners in 1637.
By the fifteenth century there is evidence of the arrival of the
commercial interest and the ownership of some of the freeholds having changed
hands, than being in possession of citizens and merchants of London.
1446 In 1446 William Staynford was successful plaintiff in a fine for 1
Messuage, 100 acres of land, 10 acres of meadow, 12 acres of pasture and
six acres of wood and 2/- rent, with appurtenances in Warnham against Ralph
Swekock, citizen and bowyer of the City of London, and John Dawe, citizen
and draper of the City of London.
1453 In 1453 William Thwaytes, William Stoute and Stephen Comber suit claimed
for 1 messuage, 60 acres of land, 1 acre of meadow and one acre of wood, with
12/10 rent and appurtenances in Warnham, against Thomas Hall, citizen and bowyer
of London and his wife.
By the end of the fifteenth century, at the time of the accession of Henry
VII (1485), the land-occupying society had changed considerably, the yeoman
class was becoming established in the countryside, owning their own selfcontained farms and the earlier manor estates, as we have seen, had been split
up. These new owners might or might not be free-holders but they no longer owed
service or dues other than payment of rent, and they enjoyed a reasonable degree
of security of tenure. The new middle class, mainly from London, were also
moving into the countryside and becoming large land owners, sometimes for
commercial reasons, such as wool exporting and the manufacture of cloth (though
it is doubtful if this part of Sussex was suitable for sheep farming on such a
scale).
Villeinage was on the way out, but these changes in land use led to an
increasing degree of unemployment and vagrancy.
The Church too had been weakened and there were abuses in its power and
authority; the monasteries and abbeys were less preoccupied with the fate of the
poor and needy and more concerned with the self interest of the priors and
abbots. This was to lead to the dissolution of the monasteries and later to the
reformation in the next century.
The Sixteenth Century and the Reformation
Exactly what happened at this time is difficult to determine but it certainly
led to a change in the Rectory of Warnham and in some title to the Manor of
Warnham.
According to the records - the Close Rolls of 31 Henry VIII (1540), Sir
Robert Southwell ceded to the King the Rectory and Church in Warnham, and in a
fine of 38 Henry VIII (1547) the King was the successful plaintiff against Sir
Robert Southwell and Margaret his wife, for the Manors of Rusper, Pristwood,
Warnham and Hewells and tenements in these places and Horsham which were quit—
claimed to the King.
Sir Robert Southwell and his Brother, Sir Richard, were both active in the
suppression of the Monasteries and it is possible to speculate, that the Nunnery
at Rusper and its possessions were part of Sir Robert's spoils when it was
suppressed in 1537. Sir Robert was knighted in that year and was made Master of
the Rolls in 1542. The Rectory of Warnham and the impropriation of the Church
were transferred to the Deanery Of Canterbury, but the explanation for the
transfer of the Manors to the King is not at all clear and worthy of further
research.
Moreover in a Post Mortem Inquisition of 3 Edward VI (1550), Sir Roger
Copley, Knight, is shown as owning the Manors of Roughey, Warnham and Hurst and
messuages and lands in Warnham, Rusper, Itchingfield, Roughey, Horsham and West
Harting. His heir was his son Thomas, aged 9, and from another source we learn
that his daughter Bridget married Richard Southwell, son of Sir Richard
Southwell and Sir Robert's nephew, sometime between 1537 and 1559. (Note: Sir
Roger Copley's second wife and Mother of Bridget Southwell was Elizabeth Shelley
of Michelgrove). Suffice to say that at a later stage Sir Roger Copley appears
to have been possessed also of the Manors of Warnham, Rusper, Roffey, etc. and
the properties which presumably came to him from the Southwells. This was
probably also the title which came to John Wicker in the 18th century - q.v.
About this time two new families settled in Warnham; the Carylls who
became land owners and lessers over a large part of the County, taking over much
of the sequestered estates of the 4th Duke of Norfolk in Queen Elizabeth's
reign, and actively and gainfully engaged in the exploitation of the iron
founding industry in its peak period; and the Michells, a local family coming
originally from Stammerham and Horsham, who settled at Field Place and elsewhere
in the parish, notably at Thecchers (now Geerings).
The Iron Industry
The iron—working industry had been carried on in the Weald of Sussex from
early times but output was limited by the primitive furnaces producing blooms of
molten iron at the bottom of the furnace which had to be reconstructed on each
occasion. New methods incorporating blast furnaces worked by water power in
permanent buildings allowed the smelting to be carried out as a continuous
process. It needed water power and vast quantities of iron ore and charcoal with
which this part of Sussex was bountifully supplied. The demand for iron
continued to grow and by the mid—sixteenth century the wholesale slaughter of
the woodlands was causing concern, though little was done at the time to replant new trees. Evidence of the industry, which reached its peak towards the
end of the seventeenth century still remains in the hammer ponds but many of the
scars of the former treeless slopes have recovered.
In these peak years several of the hereditary families, the Norfolks, the
Coverts, the Gratwyks and de Sauvages grasped the chance to exploit this
industry, and the ownership of the iron works became a prime issue during the
Civil War. Most of the works at that time were owned by Royalist families and
were a target for destruction by the Roundheads.
Probably one of the families most successfully to exploit the industry in
this part of Sussex was the Carylls, particularly after Sir John Caryll took
over the lease of St. Leonards Forest following the execution of the 4th Duke of
Norfolk (1572). Sir Edward Caryll of Shipley (Sir John's Uncle), became engaged
in protracted litigation with Roger Gratwyk over the ownership of the ore
deposits at what is now Leonards Lee, almost to the stage which led to fighting
between their supporters. In the end the Carylls seem to have prevailed and
these works with the forges at the Hammer Pond in St. Leonards Forest also came
into the possession of Sir John.
The Warnham Forge was almost certainly built early in the 1600s and the
lease was grantee to Sir John Caryll in 1609. It only enjoyed a limited
prosperity for it was ruined by 1664. It presumably stood on the site of the
present mill buildings.
The other Forges in St. Leonards Forest in the ownership of the Carylls
also seem to have become disused round about this time, probably following the
Civil War, and this might possibly account for the removal of the family from
Warnham to Harting by the second Sir John Caryll about that time.
The decease of the iron industry in Sussex by the end of the seventeenth century
brought with it much unemployment and distress, which in turn led to the new and
more widely profitable industry of smuggling and brigandage, which was to
persist through the next century.
The Carylls of Warnham (see Appendix V)
The Carylls first appear to have come to Warnham at the end of the 15th
century, John Caryll (2) (sometimes spelt Carrill or Carrell) was Sergeant-atLaw in the time of Henry VIII and purchased Cradyl Yelland, ; (wherever that is)
in 1513. He was buried in Warnham in 1540. He was succeeded by his second son
John (3), also Sergeant—at-Law and Attorney of the Duchy of Lancaster in the
time of Queen Elizabeth. He had large estates in Horsham, Nuthurst, Rusper,
Rudgwick, Warnham and Wisborough Green. He died in 1566 in London, but is buried
in Warnham, where he had his Mansion (on the site adjacent to the present
Warnham Place).
He was succeeded by his grandson, also John (5), (1557-1613), son of his
own second son Thomas, who had predeceased him. He expanded the estates
considerably, taking over the lease of virtually the whole of St. Leonards
Forest, including the parks and lands of Chesworth, Sedgwick, Shelley and
Bewbush, and his lands extended down to West Grinstead, Shipley, Billingshurst,
Houghton, Goodwood and Somptinge. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth and is
commemorated with his wife, Mary Cotton of Warblington, and his children in the
distinctive memorial in the Caryll chapel in Warnham Church.
His Uncle Edward (1537-1609), the third son of John (3), who owned estates
at Harting, was knighted in 1603 and started a cadet branch of the family there.
These Harting estates reverted to the Warnham branch 3 generations later, in
1616, when his grandson, Sir Richard Caryll, died.
Sir John's successor, also Sir John (6), born 1583, became the heir to
both estates, of Warnham and Harting and was probably the last of the family to
live at Warnham, where his eldest son, Sir John (7) (1603-1681) was born. The
family moved subsequently first to Harting and later to Goodwood. The next heir,
again John, born 1625, was evidently involved in the religious controversies of
the time and was attainted in 1674. He supported James II and departed abroad
where he was later created Baron Caryll by the Old Pretender, James Edward, in
1701, dying abroad in 1711. His brother Richard carried on with what remained of
the estates, moving to West Grinstead, but also retaining the Harting estates,
where his son and grandson were both born. The succession ends with John Baptist
Caryll who sold up the estates and retired to France, where he styled himself as
an English Baron, having adopted the Jacobite title of his great uncle. He died
in 1787.
It seems therefore that the Carylls connection with Warnham expired
somewhere about 1650—60 when they moved to Harting. The land they owned,
according to an Inquisition on John Caryll (3) in 1566 (see Appendix VI),
comprised a very large part of the parish, as far as the names of the fields can
be identified, mostly in the Southern half of the parish. Traces of the old
Mansion at Warnham Place can still be seen. A description of it in 1788 calls it
"a plain ugly erection with a central pediment surmounted by urns", evidently of
more recent construction than the Carylls time, though there was still adjacent
to it an old chimney stack with diagonally placed shafts and evidently of Tudor
design.
This house is reputed to have been pulled down about as it was said to be
haunted.
The Mychells or Michells
The Mychells, Michells or sometimes Mitchells, came to Warnham slightly
before the Carylls and seem to have been contemporary land-owners at Field Place
and Thecchers in the parish, eventually acquiring much of the other land held by
the Carylls in Warnham, though no connections by marriage to explain the
transfers of the land have been discovered. It is however of possible interest
that Thomas Mychel and Robert Younge, two of the largest local landowners, were
appointed as executors of the estate of John Caryll (or Carrell, as spelt) in
1566.
The Michell family originally came from Stamerham, near Horsham, in the
second half of the l5th century, where John Mychell (l), who first owned land in
Warnham, died in l474, leaving his lands in Stamerham to the eldest son John,
and those in Itchingfield and Shipley to his second son Henry. It is this second
John's eldest son Richard who first came to live in Warnham at Field Place and
his brother John either bought or inherited a property called Thecchers. Richard
died in 1524 leaving £40 to build the Church Tower in Warnham Church where he is
buried. Besides Field Place he seems to have owned other land in Warnham,
including what was known as "the Sondes Lands" (could this be Sands?), which he
passed on to his eldest son John (3), who married Mary Lewknor, whilst
Stamerham, together with land in Rusper and Horsham, went to the next son Thomas
(born 1518). He started a separate Stamerham line which, in the next generation,
owned further land in Horsham, Rudgwick and Harting. Richard's fourth son Henry
inherited Field Place and the Warnham lands, except for land at Blackstrode
(Strood) which was left to Richard Pilfold, another family which was to be
connected with Warnham over the next two hundred years. See Appendix VII.
Field Place itself remained in the Michell family until somewhere about 1700
when it was bought from John Michell by his stepson, Edward Shelley.
The lands which now form the nucleus of Warnham Park, originally in the
possession of the Carylls, (and known as Willhaws or Rosers, Whitefield or
Pittsfield, Bromehouse, Jeffreys or Le Lyon, Leghorn and Rudd, Townes, Stylers,
Lakewood or Lakegarden and Le Street, Hallamps and le Rod) passed for a time to
the Rapley family through the marriage of Henry Michell's daughter Joan to
Thomas Rapley (d.1611) but returned to the Michell family through a further
marriage as they formed the dowry of Sarah Rapley on her marriage to Edmund
Michell (1645—1702). The Rapleys too owned other land in Warnham as Robert
Rapley is mentioned as owner of Maltmayes about 1627.
These lands, including the Manor of Hollands, later passed to Sarah
Michell's grand-daughters, and to their grand—daughters, by which time they were
occupied by the Redford family who farmed these and other adjacent lands, which
were finally purchased by Nathaniel Tredcroft of Horsham and were reunited in
single ownership by his son, Henry, who built Warnham Court and laid out the
deer park.
The second John Mychell's second son John of Thecchers, born about 1485,
see Appendix VIII, came into a separate estate, Thecchers, Hills and Cocks
(probably now Geerings and Cox's, and perhaps part of Durfold), and this branch
later, about 1600, owned Chekyns (Chickens), also other areas which earlier
belonged to the Carylls, Dennymeade, Nashland, Sladeland, Northland, alias
Brookes and Ghylls.
The Rapleys in Warnham
It is evident that the Rapleys at one time owned several properties in the
Parish, originally in the possession of the Carylls in their own right, and
branches of the family lived there in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Thomas Rapley of Chidingfold, as we have seen, married Johane, daughter of
Henry Michell of Field Place as her second husband before 1560 and settled in
Warnham where his two sons, Thomas and George, were born, and it was this latter
Thomas who died in 1611 (see p.12) leaving the lands described. Besides this he
sold a considerable property believed to include Broomlands and the Southern
parts of Warnham Park for £800 to his son—in-law Thomas Agate, who married his
daughter Mary (born 1585). Two other daughters, Margaret and Elizabeth, married
respectively Henry Michell and Anthony Middleton. Thus the Rapley family
provided an important link with other Warnham families. In 1637 Robert Rapley
owned the land called Mould Mayes (Maltmayes) and in 1670 Thomas John & Robert
Raplie were living in the village.
The Agates of Warnham
The Agates were an old—established Sussex family, formerly the atte Gates,
and came originally from East Sussex. In the sixteenth century a branch was
established at Cowfold & Bolney and, at one time, held the Manors of Walhurst
and Warninglid. Though there is an earlier record, in the earlier 1500s, of a
certain Roger Agate in Warnham, who left a bullock to his grandson, the first
real evidence of the Warnham branch is of a certain Thomas Gates or Agate who,
in 1611, married Mary Rapley, the grand—daughter of Thomas Rapley of Chidingfold
and Johane Michell of Field Place.
As mentioned earlier Thomas Agate bought land in Warnham including
Broomharnes, sometimes known as Broomhokes, Southland and Southworth from his
father-in—law; also an area mentioned earlier, known as Townes which had
formerly belonged to the Carylls and later to Thomas Rapley.
Thomas Agate and Mary Rapley had 4 sons, Thomas, John, Robert & William
(See App. XII) and 2 daughters. Thomas, who inherited these Warnham lands did
not marry and, in 1636, left Broomharnes and Southland to his brother John and
Southworth to his brother Robert. There were thus two branches of the family
established in the Parish by the middle of the seventeenth century.
The succession of these is difficult to follow as the Agates, in the
second half of the seventeenth century became firmly established members of the
Free Church (Anabaptists) in Horsham. They did not believe in infant baptism in
Church and hence there is no record of these families in the Parish Registers.
By 1700 there were still at least two branches of the original Agate family
living in the Parish and in 1711, according to the Manor Rolls, John Agate, who
was the current owner of the Broomharnes property, bought Broomhokes or
Broomfield from Thomas Agate, but whether this was a separate property or Thomas
was merely selling his share of the original property to John, or what their
family relationship was, is not now clear. In 1707 John & Thomas had bought the
property known as Dorks and Sands, of 20 acres (now the northern corner of
Warnham Park) from John Borer (of Durfold), but in 1736 Thomas sold out his
share to John. So John Agate became the sole owner of both properties which
passed to his son John who, in 1780, made Dorks & Sands over to William Stanford
of Ashurst on his marriage to John's daughter Elizabeth. By this time it is
clear that this branch of the family was very well to do, later buying up
Randalls, Chantry Farm and possibly Rookwood at various times. The last John
Agate of this branch, however, died in 1827 leaving his property, together with
£60,000, to his daughter Sarah who had married John Wood of Twineham. The latter
and, later, one of his sons, took over and farmed this property until about 1875
when it came into the possession of Mr. C.T. Lucas as part of the enlarged
Warnham Court estate.
The succession in the other branch is less clear for the reasons mentioned
but, in 1765, it was represented by Robert Agate, Yeoman, who owned only a small
property of 20 acres known as Southford and Enhams, which is now incorporated in
the South West corner of Warnham Park adjoining Robin Hood Lane - thus opposite
to Broomlands. It could be that this is the original Southworth property left to
an earlier Robert Agate in 1636 as stated above.
This branch survives and thrives today, since Stephen Agate (1792 — 1878),
a grandson of Robert Agate it was, who founded the original timber works in
Warnham about 1823 and several of his sons, notably John, Alfred and Albert
farmed in Warnham in the second half of the nineteenth century and played an
active part in the life of the village.
The Chantry Lands
Details of these are scarce but it is clear that certain lands in Warnham
were endowed to provide income for one or possibly two Chantry guilds set up in
the parish church of Horsham.
The first of these, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, was licenced by Edward
II for Walter Burgeys to found a chantry, to be endowed by him with fifty acres
of land in Horsham, Warnham and Rudgwick. It was to pay a chaplain to celebrate
divine service daily for the soul of Walter and his successors.
The other, known as Botelers or Butlers Chantry, was licenced to Richard
Wakehurst and others in 1447 to found a perpetual chantry in St. Mary's Church,
Horsham, for a chaplain to celebrate daily for the welfare of the King, Duke of
Norfolk, Wakehurst and others and their ancestors, and for the souls of Henry
Boteler and his wife Maria. The lands by which this was endowed included the
site of Hills Place in Horsham, as well as land in Warnham and elsewhere.
On the dissolution of the monasteries and the subsequent taking over of
chantries in 1540, these lands passed to the Crown and they were given to Sir
Roger Copley, and from him passed to Sir John Caryll, who also purchased the
chantry lands of the Holy Trinity from one Thomas Ribley about 1541.
This is of interest because Sir Roger Copley is shown as holding the Manor
of Warnham at one time, presumably from the title assumed by Sir Robert
Southwell (see p.10).
In 1608 Sir John Caryll sold his land at Hills Place to Thomas Middleton,
an M.P. for Horsham, whose family also had connections with Warnham, (as yet not
clear). He however backed the Royalist cause in the Civil War and sold up Hills
Place in 1654.
The lands concerned in Warnham would presumably be in the area of the
Chantry Barn formerly standing in Robin Hood Lane.
The Church of Warnham
The first church or chapel on the site was probably built by William de
Braoze, Lord of the Rape of Bramber, who about 1204 gave the impropriation of
the Church to the Nunnery of St. Mary Magdalene, Rusper, to which all
spiritualities, tithes and rents became due.
The latter duly appointed Robert de Dorking as the first vicar in
1247. The endowment of the Bishop of Chichester confirming this is
as follows :"To all Christian people who may see the present writing, Master Lawrence
Somercote, official of the Lord Bishop of Chichester, sends everlasting
health in the Lord. Be it known that Richard, Bishop of Chichester, has
admitted Robert de Dorking, chaplain to the vicarage of Warnham on the
presentation of the Prioress and Convent of Rusper, and has canonically
instituted him in the same; and that by the authority of the same Bishop,
we have taxed the same vicarage after this manner, viz. the same Robert and
his successors for ever, shall receive entire all the tithes arising from
the lands of Robert Blund and William de Dene, and all the tithes of hay
and mills, and also all the small tithes of the parish, and all the
offerings at the altar. The said nuns reserving to themselves "princip
legat" and all other great tithes of the same parish. The said Vicar and
his successors paying all procurations, synodals and other customary fees.
Dated at Horsham 18th July 1247."
Note: An early document states that the church was at the cross
roads of two tracks, one from Dorking over Broadbridge
Heath to Storrington and the other from Stane St. junction
to Horsham across Warnham Park.
The Nona return in 1340/41*, taken by William le Whyte, Henry atte Rowe
(Rye?), William de Lunges and William Hust, parishioners, who on oath "say that
the ninth part of the sheaves, wool and lambs is valued this year at £8; they
also say that the aforesaid ninths do not amount to more than the valuation of
the church because the Rector of the same has lands, meadows, pasture, the tythe
of hay and vetches and other small tythes and oblations valued at 40 shillings
per annum. And they further say that there are no ecclesiastical lands in the
aforesaid pish, nor any merchants, but such persons only as live by
agriculture."
Extracted from Dalloway & Cartwright.
* This record specifies the value of every benefice
distinguishing how far it exceeded or fell short of the valuation
of Pope Nicholas of 1291. Its purpose was in connection with a
subsidy in the form of a ninth of the corn, wool and lands in
each parish.
The Close Rolls of 31 Henry VIII (1540) shows the transfer of the Rectory
and Church in Warnham to the King.
After the dissolution the title of the living of Warnham vested in the
Crown and then the Dean & Chapter of Canterbury until, in 1874, it was assigned
to Mr. C.T. Lucas.
The great tithes of Warnham would appear to have been vested in Sir Robert
Southwell, as we have seen, and later passed to Sir Roger Copley. At a later
stage they passed, apparently with the Rectory of Warnham, to one John Wicker,
originally perhaps a brewer of Ockley, who became a large land owner and M.P.
for Horsham residing at Park House, Horsham. He owned also Street Farm (now Old
Manor). His estates were inherited by his daughter Charlotte Wicker, who married
the Rev. Sir Thomas Broughton. The title to the Rectory was then disputed in a
long and involved Law case, which we have not yet unravelled. Ultimately these
tithes vested in Sir Timothy Shelley of Field Place.
A Terryer dated 1635 showing the "possessions and profits" of the vicarage
states that it "owns a house, a barn or stable with a small cottage thereunto
adjoining two herbe gardens and an orchard conteyning by estimation three roods
of ground and it is bounded on the North & West with a field belonging to the
Parsonage called the Minching Field, on the South it is bounded with a land
which is the footway from the West point of the Parish to the Church, on the
East with the Kings Highway or Streete.
It is endowed_with all the lesser Tythes, the Tythes of Hay and Mills and
the Tythe of the Altar or Offerings, it hath all the Mortuaries or Corse
presents and it is endowed with all the greater Tythes or Tythes of Corn growing
on a Trench called or known by the name of Pines or the Pinyes being a pt of the
Manor of Denn and all these Tythes are due in their kinds, neither is there any
Custome or prescription in the Pish.
Signed
Mark of
Witnessed by
Thomas Holland
Vicar.·
John Evershed
Churchwarden
John Smith
John Michell, Thomas Lucas,
John Boarer - his mark. "
The names of Vicars since Robert de Dorkyng, as far as they are known, are
given in Appendix IX.
The Parish Registers of baptisms, marriages and burials complete since
1558 are in the County Record Office. They provide an interesting historical
record in themselves, though difficult sometimes to interpret. So too, do the
tombstones in the Churchyard, though unfortunately inscriptions have been
deteriorating rapidly in recent years.
A reflection from history is shown in the Parish Registers during the
Commonwealth period. The Rev. Wi1liam Avery had been appointed Vicar of Warnham
in 1647 but, in compliance with the Commonwealth Act of Parliament of Bath
August 1653, this appointment by the Deanery of Canterbury was superceded and he
was duly appointed as Register on election by the Parish, by two Justices of the
Peace, Richard Yates and Edward Michell. But apparently he could not tolerate
this and on 7th April 1656 Richard Clowser, a parishioner, was appointed in his
stead and took oath before the same two Justices (both of whom it will be noted
were major landowners in the Parish). On the Restoration of Charles II, the Rev.
Wil1iam Avery was re—appointed as Vicar until his death in 1684.
An interesting sidelight on this is the interference with certain entries
in the Parish Register of this period. In the Register of Baptism, two entries
appear, viz. :—
1657 William, son of Robert Vannes, Vicar of Warnham, and
1659 William, son of Robert Dennis, Clerk of Warnham,
have both been defaced by the entry of the word "No" inserted in another hand
immediately after the names Vannes and Dennis. It seems possible that these were
intruding clerics of Puritan sympathies, and that the addition was inserted by
the indignant Avery on his return to the incumbency.
Similarly in the Register of Burials, against two entries, viz.:in Oct. 1657, Richard Yates Esquire,
and Dec. 1658, Henry Yates Esquire,
the word "No" has been inserted immediately after the name. Richard
Yates, presumably of the Old House (or Endes) was one of the Justices of
the Peace, who appointed Clowser as Avery's successor or Register, and
Henry Yates was his son. It is probable that the Yates sided with the
Parliamentary side in the Civil War and the "No" was inserted by Avery
to show his distaste for the Cromwellian party, which caused his loss of
the benefice.
In a survey of Sussex Estates of the Dean & Chapter of Canterbury in 1671,
Dr. John Bargrove, Prebendary & Receiver General of Christ Church Canterbury
(who complained very strongly on his visit to Horsham of the weather "and
especially after the raynes very, very bad wayes, from whence it is said that
the towne had its name, the steps to it being up to the horses hams") says
"Warnham Rectory lyeth 2 miles North East (sic) of Horsham. There is no house on
it, but only a barne on one floor at each end of a bay, that and the Chancell in
tolerable repair" (Sussex Archaeological Collections Vol.53 P.197).
In l712 a Bishop's visitation by Bishop Bowers, when Rev. William Harvey
was the incumbent, the church was in indifferent repair, and the Church gate and
porch needed attention. There were at that time 70-80 families in the parish
including 5 Anabaptists and one Presbitarian woman (5 N.& R.Vol.l5 pp.289-295).
The earliest part of the present church structure remaining is part of the
north wall of the north aisle, the Caryll Chapel, which is of the fourteenth
century. Part of the chancel wall and part of the North & South arcades also
remain. The Tower and South Chapel were added in the 16th century, part of the
cost being met from the bequest of £40 from Richard Michell of Field Place in
1524.
Considerable restoration and reconstruction was done in 1847/8 at a cost
of £1830, as a result of pressure from the rural deanery. The nave was
lengthened by 16 feet in a westerly direction, which necessitated rebuilding the
west front. The south aisle and the roof of the North aisle, as far as the west
end of the north chapel were rebuilt. A singing gallery over the chancel arch
and the gallery pew over the north aisle were removed and a new western gallery
was erected. The church was repewed. Heating by hot water system was added in
1855.
Major alterations were made again in 1885/6 at a cost of £9000, mainly at
the instance of and by generosity of Mr. C.T. Lucas. The chancel was extended
eastwards and the nest porch built on under the direction of Sir Arthur
Blomfield, who had also been employed on alterations to Warnham Court and, later
on, the rebuilding of the vicarage and the new school in 1872.
The Farming Community
Since farming was the main industry. indeed the very basis of existence of
most of the inhabitants it is interesting to surmise how they lived in the
thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.
We have seen that the earliest settlers were probably engaged in swine—
herding in the clearings. They probably lived in huts and were possibly rather
transient, moving around from site to site, but gradually the settlement grew
around the church which, no doubt, was the other strand of local life. There
must have been some central place where they brought their tithes and paid their
pannage. Perhaps there were common fields and grazing, but we have not found
traces of this yet.
By the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries we have seen from the Lay
Subsidy Rolls that substantial homesteads had been set up in the outlying parts
of the parish. This suggests that there would have been some more permanent
housing of the earliest type with one or two rooms with an open hearth in the
middle and the kitchen adjoining externally. These would probably have a small
croft around them with perhaps a hovel or outbuildings for stock. By now these
farmers would have their own oxen plough teams, and would be growing their own
crops and feeding stuffs, besides grazing their hogs for the market.
The first Horsham Fair, a 3-day event, was authorised by Henry III in a
Royal Charter_in 1233 and in 1449 Henry VI granted a new charter for the holding
of two other fairs and a weekly market in Horsham. This would be, no doubt, the
outlet for poultry and pigs but, due to the nature of the land for growing corn,
it is doubtful whether there would be much to spare for the market. Farming at
this time, and much later, "would have been largely a matter of subsistence. The
oxen would be the principal source of energy both for cultivation and for
transportation, and crops would mostly be for the support of these and the
family.
The plagues, the Black Death in the second half of the 14th century, would
have seriously reduced the population; as it did elsewhere, and caused,
inevitably, further hardships in the countryside. Sussex seems to have been
relatively uninvolved in that other plague, the ensuing Wars of the Roses,
though here, too, there would inevitably have been calls on Manpower, so
probably progress and expansion and what we today call productivity could have
been low. Changes in methods too would be slow but, as we have noted, more land
would have been opened up in the fifteenth century as a new breed of land
holders began to arrive. Villeinage was on the way out and a new class of
countryman, the yeoman farmer working for himself only was becoming an
independent land-holder with a higher degree of security of tenure, whilst the
new "gentry" from the universities and the law were also taking over larger
country estates. The mercantile interests, too, became interested in the land,
particularly the mercers, drapers and cloth-makers mainly with an eye to
business, often the export business near the coast. At that time the heavily
wooded land round Warnham was not however particularly well suited to sheep and
woollen products, though no doubt the cottagers would have undertaken craft
industries, such as spinning and weaving. More likely subsidiary industries in
this area might have been lime-burning and charcoal burning.
By the end of the 14th century, several of the timber-framed buildings of
which we can still see the elements today, would have been erected, either as
great halls or cottages. By now these outlying farmsteads would have become
small communities in their own right, with their resident workers, either living
with the family, or in tenements adjoining. They would have been almost entirely
self-supporting, baking their own bread from flour ground from their own wheat,
either at home or at the nearest mill; brewing their own ale; making their own
clothes from their own wool or flax; perhaps doing their own smithing or
carpentering, if these tradesmen were not available in the village itself.
For the peasantry the demise of villeinage was not an unmixed blessing as,
in his case, it meant the loss of his security of tenure, and destitution and
vagrancy became a serious problem, against which for the first time social
legislation became necessary.
For the Warnham inhabitants a temporary relief would have been the revival
of the iron industry which reached its peak in the fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries, and which must have resulted in a much more rapid opening up of new
agricultural land. It seems to have petered out in the middle of the seventeenth
century, accelerated by the Civil War and the discovery of the use of coke, as a
substitute for charcoal in smelting, with the consequent removal of the industry
from Sussex to the Midlands and North of England.
This again led to much distress and unemployment, and the growth of what
became Sussex's second greatest industry — smuggling - in which we can be sure
the inhabitants of Warnham played their part.
The Shelleys of Warnham
It has generally been thought that Field Place came to the Shelleys
through the marriage of Mary Catherine Michell, daughter of Rev. Theobald
Michell to Sir Bysshe Shelley as his second wife in 1752. She was thus the
grandmother of the poet. The Rev. Theobald was in fact a member of the junior
branch of Michelle of Stamerham, descended from Thomas q.v. He married firstly
Anne Pilfold of Baylings and secondly Mary Tredcroft, sister of the builder of
Warnham Court. (See Appendix X).
It is now established that Field Place was in fact bought from John
Michell by Edward Shelley, born 1670, the son of Timothy Shelley of Champneys in
Thakeham, by Mary Cheale of Findon, his second wife in 1670. He had earlier, in
1664, married Katherine Michell, daughter of Edward Michell of Stamerham, by
whom he had one son, John Shelley, who married Helen Bysshe of Worth. Edward was
thus John's ha1f—brother. Timothy died when Edward was one year old in 1671. In
1687 his widow, Mary Shelley married, as second husband, John Michell, 1644—
l706, of Field Place. The latter had 7 children by his previous wife, Joanne
Wheatley, but they all predeceased him. Edward thus became his stepson. When
John Michell died in 1706 he left two further sons and one daughter by his
second wife; Edmund, who married Sarah Rapley, owner of 200 acres in Warnham,
Thomas and Ann. His widow, nee Mary Cheale continued to live in Warnham and died
there in 1731 an the age of 87.
Edward Shelley became a distinguished lawyer in the Middle Temple, and
when he died in 1747 he left property in many parts of Sussex. He left the
property "in his own occupation", Field Place & Stedmans, to his nephew Timothy
Shelley (son of his ha1f—brother John 1701-77) with provision for this to pass
with other estates to Timothy’s eldest son, Timothy, for life, and if no issue
then to his second son Bysshe. These included his chambers in London which were
left to his nephews directly. It was thus that the poet's grandfather, Sir
Bysshe Shelley, came into the Field Place property.
Percy Bysshe Shelley, the poet, spent his youth in Warnham and is reputed
to have sailed his boat on Warnham Pond, but after that his connection with
Warnham was tenuous, and he never lived there. The property however passed to
his son, Sir Percy Florence Shelley, 1819-1889.
The Pilfolds of Warnham
The Pilfolds were the other 1ong—established family in Warnham which
inter-married at various times with the Michells and Shelleys. Richard Pilfold
of Warnham inherited an estate known as Blackstrode (considered to be Strood
area of the Parish) under the Will of Richard Michell of Field Place sometime
before 1558, when he died. The lands of his three sons, John Pilfold of Baylings
and Rusper, Ralph Pilfold of Pinkhurst, and Harry Pilfold of Wightes (in
Warnham) and Staplehurst, passed to the descendants of Ralph, through his son
John (the Elder) who died in 1580 and passed thence in the direct line to a
great—great-grandson, Richard Pilfold of Dorks, who also owned the Rose in
Horsham and half of Birdles in Horsham about 1630. Some of the family were still
living at Baylings; the great—grandsons of that Richard of Dorks, another
Richard (1677-1748), and John (1680—1745), are both identified as "of Baylings
and Horsham" where John, and possibly both, were engaged in business as Mercers.
This John married in 1716 Mary Michell, daughter of Walsingham Michell (of the
Stamerham branch) and his youngest sister Anne (1686-1732) it was who married
the Rev. Theobald Michell, and whose daughter Mary Catherine married Bysshe
Shelley as his second wife. This family is commemorated in the large memorial on
the outside of the North Wall of Warnham Church.
John & Mary Pilfold had three sons, John, Richard and Charles, and
daughter, Mary, who married James Wood of Cowfold. The second son of the
son, Charles (of Effingham) became Captain John Pilfold (1768-1834), who
commanded the Ajax at the battle of Trafalgar, and his sister Elizabeth,
1763, married Sir Timothy Shelley, the second baronet of Field Place, in
(The half brother of Edward, who bought Field Place.)
one
third
born
1791.
One further connection of interest with Warnham - John Pilfold, eldest
brother of Charles referred to above, left Great Docks & Broadfield, 80 acres,
adjoining Warnham Park, to his son-in-law Thomas Charles Medwin, (a prominent
Horsham lawyer and Steward of the Manor and of the Duke of Norfolk) who married
his daughter Mary, for life and afterwards to his grandson John Medwin.
Unfortunately this young man appears to have heavily encumbered the property and
he was shipped to India with a Cornetcy in the Army and the estate was duly
rescued by his father and sold to Nathaniel Tredcroft in 1824 when it added to
the Warnham Court estate.
The Seventeenth Century
The seventeenth century saw the consolidation of the village in something
like its present form. Most of the old houses of Warnham which still exist in
the village and its outlying districts date from this time when they were
"modernised".
We also get some picture of the inhabitants from official documents of the
period, and it is interesting to see the names of families who existed in the
village from the earliest times right down to the l9th century and, in some
cases, until today.
In 1641 the records of administration of the Oath of Protestation, which
was taken by all males of 18 or over, show that this was administered under the
direction of two of the Justices of the Peace, Ralph Cooper of Strode (Strood)
and Thomas Middleton of Hills Place, Horsham, through the Vicar, Thomas Holland,
the Church wardens, John Agate and George Mower, and the Collectors of the Poor,
Roger Hill and John Evershed. 113 males took the Oath. There were 4 Recusants,
John Kempe and his two servants, Henry & William, and an old man reputed to be
the Uncle of Mrs. Kempe. Amongst the inhabitants and land holders are included
the following :Richard Yates, Gent.
John Weston, "
Richard Morrice "
John Michell de Field Place, Gent.
John Michell de Coxe and his Son John.
John Michell de Maies.
Henry Michell de Maies.
Henry Michell, Senior.
Richard Michell.
Phillip Michell.
Francis Pilfould.
John Pilfould, Sen.
John Pilfould, Jun.
Thomas, John & Robert Raplie.
Henry, John & Thomas Clowser.
Thomas Boorer, Sen.& Jun., Henry & John Boorer.
John Worsfold, Sen.& Jun. & George Worsfould,
and several other names which recur throughout our history, Edward Stedman,
William Mose, James Mulford, Charman, Jupp, Lucas,Booker & Nie.
Later, in the period l664 - 1670 when a Hearth Tax was imposed, based on
the number of hearths in each house, we get some idea of the circumstances of
these people. The largest mansion is that of Henry Onslow Esq., later Sir Henry
of Drungewick, who paid tax on 25 hearths. (He at some stage married the widow,
Jane, of Henry Yates — see App. IV and Manor of Slaughterford — and it is
possibly through her that he became possessed of this property, which could
conceivably be the mansion formerly of the Carylls on the site of the present
Warnham Place, or equally the Old House of the Manor of Slaughterford, in both
of which the Yates family had an interest about this time.
Other major householders (or hearth owners) were :Edward Carrill (9), John Rapley (8),
Thomas Michell of cox (7), Richard Michell (6),
Henry Michell (5) and "Widow" Michell (l),
Aquila Simons (8), William Stiant,Gent.(7),
Thomas Elphicke (9), John Agate (6),
Richard Pilfold (5), Henry Clowser (5),
John Clowser (4) & William Clowser (2),
Richard Clowser (3), another Richard Clowser (2),
Thomas Borer (5), William Avery, Clerk (the Vicar) (5)
Edward Mulford (7), Robert Mulford (2).
Other regular Warnham names who paid the tax include Charman, Naldrett,
Booker, Batchelor, Nightingale, Steere and Stanford. At Michaelman 1664, 91
houses were assessed, but at Lady Day 1670 when some new names Jordan (9) &
Taylor (8) appear, only 83 were levied for tax. (Photostats of these records are
available). The Vicar's 5 hearths is somewhat at variance with Dr. Bargrove's
report in 1671 (See page 16) when he says there is no house on the Warnham
Rectory, but perhaps the Rev. Avery had his own private house elsewhere.
Transportation and Communication
Roads in Sussex had a traditionally bad name. Right up until the 17th
century when Turnpike roads were instituted and generally developed, highways
were largely cart tracks, rutted in summer and muddy up to the axles in winter.
A traveller in Sussex in 1752 maintained that "a Sussex road is an insuperable
evil".
Communication between Warnham and Horsham must have been on foot or
horseback only until well into the seventeenth century.
Such roads as there were were primarily concerned with the movement of
iron and coal and it was only as the need of trade outside local areas developed
that highways as such were established. For the rest, communication was by track
and footpath through the forests and across the Common. These tortuous and
multifarious ways were of particular advantage to smugglers and felons.
Up to 17th century legislation was not concerned with the upkeep or
condition of highways, but with security, viz. 1825 law that all trees etc.,
either side of highways between market towns must be cut back 200—ft. each side.
Earlier, an Act of Parliament in 1534 for the "Amending of highways in
Sussex" which "shall and may for henceforth extend, take effect and be put in
execution in every place in Sussex where the ways and streets are noyous to the
King's said subjects in the said County of Sussex" - did little to improve their
state or improve communication between places.
The first general Act for repair of highways passed 1555. ("Travel at this
period was indeed a great adventure and only to be undertaken with a stout
heart, for trading purposes, or under a strong personal obligation.
(W.Alberry)").
An Act of 1584 & 1597 had to do solely with ironworks. Under the 1584 Act,
it required owners of ironworks to provide "one hundredweight of Sinder, Gravel,
Stone, Sande or Chalk for repairing roads for every 6 loads of coal or ore and
every ton of iron carried on roads between 12th October and 1st May."
Up to 1663 roads were entirely the responsibility of parishes through
which they passed and land holders, and not of those who used them. The Turnpike
Acts relieved them of these parts of the road only. There were many complaints
at Assizes & Quarter Sessions about the state of the roads. In 1612, at E.
Grinstead Assizes, it was represented that "the highway from Warnham Bridge to a
house called Sheremark is in great decay and is to be amended by the parish of
Warnham."
"Item, we further present that the greater part of this Wyld of Sussex is
by carriage to and from the ironworks in the wintertime contrary to the said
statute utterly spoilt by the carriage of iron and cole to and from the
ironworks in the sayd Wyld of Sussex."
In 1628 jury returned a true bill against parishes of Horsham and Warnham "for
the state of the highway called Broadbridge and of the bridge called Farthynge
Bridge".
The Water Bailiff to the Earl of Arundel, about 1637, who describes all
the waterways in this area, mentions what he calls "the Wapple Way "leading from
Surrey gate, between Denland and Rudgebrooke to the highway that goeth to
Horsham, leading straight South by the East and South side of the said Denlands
to Earthenbridge between certain lands called Hoppes and the Knells, part of Den
aforesaid. Thence by the lands called Mayes, and so Southward by the Mansion
House of Mr.Richard Yeates, late William Young's and before John Eydes, called
Eads, alias Edes, and so into the Kings Highway that part of the said Mr. Yeates
his lands called Endes and Stroodland in Slinfold Parish."
This Wapple Way is a bridle path or pack road and is a continuation of the
so—ca1led Smugglers Lane on the Surrey side. The path through Denne Wood is
obscure and passes west of Ridgbrook Cottage. It issues again as a well—defined
grass-grown bridle path debouching on to Marches Road immediately opposite Mayes
Lane (the Water Bailiffs "Highway which goes to Horsham"). Here evidently the
old track turned west along the South side of Denlands for a short distance past
Stone Farm where it swung South again between Hoppers Barn to the track where
the Council cottages now are. Earthen bridge, apparently a lost name, was
probably a narrow embankment with a wooden bridge carrying the path Southwards
over Sladebottom Gill and so past Maltmayes and Benland Cottages and, where the
road now turns Eastwards sharply, the old Wapple Way went through Benland Wood
by the present bridle path and so direct to Ends Place.
The lst Turnpike Act for Sussex was in 1696 and referred to highways
between Ryegate and Crawley, being the road from Steyning and Horsham to London
"in a ruinous and almost impassable condition".
Carriages, apart from crude agricultural carts, were introduced about
1564. Long waggons or wains were used for the carriage of merchandise between
London and the principal Towns.
In mid-17th century these were supplemented by a few stage coaches on the
principal highways and by privately owned coaches.
In 1693 there was an established waggon and pack horse system between
Horsham and London.
Towards end of 17th century fresh Acts of Parliament were frequently
passed regulating traffic and the number of horses and widths of wheels used.
Roads were still atrocious — "In some parts of Sussex none but the strongest
horses in winter could get through the bog in which at every step they sank
deep" (Macaulay).
In 1751 Dr.John Buxton describes a journey from Leith Hill to Shermanbury
and refers to the roads as "abominable, Sussexian". He asks why it is that the
oxen, the swine and the women and all other animals in Sussex are long legged?
He suggests it is because of the exercise required to pull the feet out of so
much mud by the strength of their ankles that the muscles get stretched and the
bones lengthened.
By mid-18th century travel was increasing and there was a plethora of
bills for new and improved roads and the introduction of new Turnpiked sections
(not without local objections).
On llth January 1755 a Petition of J.Ps., Clergy, Gentlemen, free-holders
and other inhabitants of the Borough of Horsham was presented to Parliament,
stating "that the main roads from the market place at Horsham through Warnham,
Capel, Dorking and Leatherhead (to Epsom) by reason of the soil thereof, and of
the many heavy carriages frequently passing the same, some parts thereof are
become so ruinous and bad that in the winter season are almost impassable for
any manner of carriages and very dangerous for loaded horses and travellers and,
in many parts, so narrow as to render them dangerous to passengers" and praying
leave to bring in a Bill to amend the same. This was approved and the Bill
enacted by March that year. Trustees were appointed and erection of toll gates
and levying of tolls were authorised.
Tolls from Horsham to Dorking were :"For every coach, chariot, landau, berlin, herse,
chaise or calash drawn by six or more horses,
mares, geldings or mules ... ... ... ... 1/6d.
If drawn by A horses, etc. ... ... ...
1/If drawn by 2 horses, etc. ... ... ...
0/6d.
For every wagon, wain, cart or other carriage ... 1/For every horse, mare, gelding, mule or ass,
laden or unladen and not drawing ... ... ...
2d.
For every drove of oxen or other neat cattle
the sum of lOd. per score and in proportion.
For every drove of calves, sheep, lambs or swine,
the sum of 5d. per score and in proportion."
Other Turnpikes were established :1764 Horsham to Shipley, W. Grinstead, Ashurst, Steyning, Bramber
and Beeding. (1804 said to be best road in Britain.)
1771 Cuckfield to Horsham.
1792 Crabtree to Horsham connecting Brighton Rd.& Henfield.
1802 Worthing to W. Grinstead, connecting Horsham, Steyning.
1809 Horsham — Guildford.
1811 Five Oaks to Broadbridge Hth. connecting Guildford Road.
1823 Horsham to Crawley - London - Brighton Road.
1835 Highway Act setting up Highway Board responsible for local
roads and pavements.
Up to 1840 all roads except Turnpikes were still rutted and muddy, even up
to the 1850s on local roads, walkers would sink in mud up to their calves.
In early Acts restrictions were put on width of wheels and number of
horses permitted so as to prevent excessive loads, and extra tolls applied to
those not conforming.
The road to Horsham
As late as 1724, according to Richard Budgen's map, the highway through
Warnham ran from the Surrey border to Billingshurst and to join Stane street
rather than through Horsham, petering out only as a track across Broadbridge
Heath. The highway from Dorking to Horsham was incomplete between Lower Chickens
and Westons, and it was necessary to go round by a track roughly on the line of
Bell Road via Daux to get to Horsham.
That link in the road was not completed until 1755 when the Horsham Dorking - Leatherhead - Epsom Turnpike was completed.
The communication between Warnham and Horsham appears to have been of a
secondary order and, until quite a late date, it was limited to foot and horse
traffic across the Common. Even in 1901, when there was a fire at Warnham Court,
Mr. Morrison, the Coachman, rode to Horsham to summon the Fire Brigade.
Water Transport
Canals and rivers were, of course, a far smoother and more economical ride
where they ran and there were many plans for canals recommended during mid-18th
century.
As early as 1641 there had been proposals to link the Arun to the Wey,
thus giving passage from London to Littlehampton via the Thames, Wey and Arun to
the sea. This was overtaken by the Civil War.
In 1782. Discussions were held on possible connection of Arun from
Newbridge, Wisboro' Gn. to Weald Close, Slinfold, and later the
plan extended to Farthing Bridge but, despite subscriptions of up
to £15,000, proceedings went into liquidation 1794.
Further schemes were projected in 1812 and 1827 for Canals through
Horsham to join the Arun, but failed. Newbridge Wharf was the nearest point to
Horsham as terminus of the navigable part of river — and later the canal system
was extended to join the Wey at Guildford in 1820.
In 1813. Plans were considered to build a canal connecting London to Portsmouth.
This would have passed through Warnham. A map of the projected route is in the
County Record Office.
In 1826. Navigation of the Adur was extended to Baybridge Wharf, W. Grinstead,
and this remained the nearest point for water transport to Horsham.
Coach Routes
1740-60 Weekly wagons ran to Horsham from Southwark on Wednesday and
Thursday of each week.
After 1760 this was regularly continued and the number of services increased
until the railway from London to Horsham via Three Bridges opened in 1848.
By 1765 the service had increased to 3 waggons per week.
Regular Carriers from Horsham built up businesses which ran
regularly and daily by 1810 and up to 1860. There were several
Carriers, the last being Jupp, who finally had to give up in 1868.
1763 - A Passenger Stage Coach ran from Southwark to Horsham on Tuesday &
Saturday and, in 1765, other coaches ran from other parts of London on Fridays.
By 1775 faster and more frequent Stage Coaches ran through from Steyning via
Horsham to London, Gracechurch St., averaging, by 1750, about 8 m.p.h.
In 1784 a Mail Coach, organised by John Palmer for Post Office, averaged 10, and
sometimes 12 m.p.h. - very crowded and uncomfortable and expensive in horses.
By 1810 Coaches ran through Horsham to Worthing and Brighton regularly.
By 1820 new Macadam roads came in but, by end of 1830s railways were taking
over. In 1834 they took over mails.
In 1839 — 23 Coaches left Brighton for London daily.
In 1841 - Railway opened and only 4 Coaches ran.
By end 1845 only 1 left.
1833
Star Coach from Horsham, from Swan to Old Bell Inn, Holborn, and back
daily, except Sundays.
Later traps ran to Three Bridges to catch trains. A pair horse bus
ran from Storrington thro' Pulboro' & Horsham to Three Bridges.
After 1848, when Horsham-Three Bridges rail connection was made,
this Coach ran to Horsham only.
Lloyd, Carrier, continued with 4—horse wagon to London via Dorking, but he also
lost trade to Dorking, which switched to Three Bridges and later, when Horsham
Station (Three Bridges Line) was built, he too went out of business.
Other Traffic
By this time there was much other horse traffic through the Town. Most of
this was private and hire post chaises (kept at Inns). The 4—horse coaches of
the landed gentry and private chaises and carriages of local gentry, out
visiting and shopping, filled the streets. Four-horse and six—horse farmers' and
carriers' waggons, laden with coal, corn, barley, timber, stone, groceries and
other commodities — some of which were fetching canal-borne products from West
Grinstead & Newbridge Wharves, passed through Horsham. Farmers', tradesmen's and
professional gentlemen's ridden horses also passed through. Also yoked oxen with
heavy loads and dog carts (3 abreast) for individual transport (legally
abolished 1854).
Railways
First agitation began in 1834 for Grand Southern Railway (London, Dorking,
Horsham, Shoreham, Brighton), but this proposal was superseded by a proposal for
a Branch line to Horley. Finally, in 1844 three schemes were considered - a
through line, London-Portsmouth via Horsham, a branch line to Epsom via Dorking,
and a branch line from Three Bridges. The last and quickest had its way and was
opened in 1848. This was continued to Pulboro' and Petworth in 1857.
In 1860 an extension Horsham & Guildford Direct Railway Act was passed.
In 1862 a Horsham, Dorking, Leatherhead Act passed and this line through Warnham
opened in 1867, with a line from Horsham to Shoreham to connect with Brighton.
In 1882 the last Toll Gate in the parish closed by Act of Parliament.
Posts & Telegraphs
From 1808 to about 1840 mail was conveyed to villages by special messenger
from the nearest Town, or by a local penny post.
From 1843 to 1850 there was a great increase in free and guaranteed
deliveries.
In 1900 the first house to house deliveries commenced.
Early telegraphic communication was handled by the railways until 1870
when the Post Office assumed responsibility for the telegraphs and extended the
services.
In 1899 the first centralised telephone service commenced.
In 1875 the Post Office in Warnham, for mail only, appears to have been
behind what is now the Warnham Stores, (presumably part of a shop later taken
over by the Cokelers and built outwards with warehouse behind). The Sub—
Postmaster in 1855 was Henry Mann. He was replaced by 1858 by William Tanner who
was still there in 1875. (He was also shown as a French polisher and shopkeeper.) By 1882 it had moved to the present site and the Sub-Postmaster was
Frederick Freeman, who then ran a Grocer's shop as well. By this time it was
also a Money Order & Telegraph Office and, later, Savings Bank (by 1887).
Freeman sold out to Walter Talmey about 1890 (before 1895) and the latter took
over as Sub-Postmaster, with a delivery service and, also, Annuity & Insurance
Office. By 1899 this was taken over by Mrs. Annie Talmey and shortly after that
the business was apparently sold to Frederick William Freeman as Postmaster, who
remained at least until the outbreak of World War 2. By this time the business
appears to have expanded and included all household requirements and newspapers
and periodicals.
Notes on Farming in Warnham
We have seen that Warnham probably evolved as a settlement from the coming
together of a number of surrounding swine pastures of Saxon origins colonised
from some larger settlement, perhaps Steyning, in the South of the Rape of
Bramber. In the middle or late l2th Century these were brought together as a
parish centred on the Church. What else existed in the village itself at this
time is not known, but we do know that the vicar was entitled to the tithe on
two holdings.
There is no evidence of any common land or central strip cultivation and
pasturage adjacent to the village, which suggests that the outlying farms, as
entities, may have preceded the settlement of the village itself, and that the
early farms established their land by direct agreement with the Lord and
gradually extended their cultivated fields from further clearances in the forest
largely for their own subsistence and that of their stock. This seems to have
been the established pattern by the end of the thirteenth century, as we can see
from the Lay Subsidy Rolls, but on what condition or on what payment of dues to
the Lord or to the Church, we do not know.
They would by this time have built their scattered mediaeval timber-framed
houses in the woodland, of which we can still see the evidence today, and would
have been keeping a number of oxen as well as their herds of swine. The
irregular curved pattern of the boundaries in the fields and the roadways, and
the residual shaws, provide evidence of the piecemeal extension of boundaries as
the forest was cleared.
In an analysis of the farms existing in the parish in the 1840s, 60% date
from the 15th century or earlier, and 55% from the 12th or 15th century.
Whilst agriculture was the over—riding activity, and reason for opening up
the land, there may have been some isolated areas where the clearance was
attributable to iron-founding and forging activities in bloomeries, using large
quantities of charcoal (and clay). This would have preceded the more widespread
iron industry in the Weald of Sussex which grew up in the 16th & l7th centuries,
with the introduction of the blast furnace needing vast quantities of both wood
and water power, with which the area was well endowed. (Cider Mill Farm could
well have been Cinder Mill, but no evidence has been obtained of an early
bloomery there or elsewhere in the parish, but there are signs in some
neighbouring parishes.
Farming in the l2th and 13th centuries was still very primitive, and it
seems probable that each farm or unit would have been self-supporting; with
little produce to spare for the wider and, more or less inaccessible, town fairs
or markets, after providing for the Great and Small Tithes. The farmer would
thus have been dependent on himself and his family. The incidence of the Black
Death must have resulted in great hardship and loss for many of these families.
In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries when the wool industry became
the source of growing wealth with a profitable export outlet to the Sussex
Coast, no doubt sheep became a regular part of the farm stock, and this perhaps
accounts for the opening up of more pasturage and small fields. However this was
not as good sheep-rearing land as further South on the Downs nearer the Coast.
It is clear that a major expansion took place in Tudor times when there
was a general growth in prosperity. It was at this time that most of the older
existing houses were extended or rebuilt, with halls for the better off, and
when the Carylls and the Michells became the major landowners. Despite this
there does not seem to have been any major problem through any major enclosures
by the landlords, and most of the farms remained on lease. This period saw the
arrival of the Yeoman farmers and probably the beginning of real attempts to
improve the land.
Even by the l7th century the average size of farms on the Weald was under
100 acres, compared with those on the Downs of 350 acres. Some were as small as
16-20 acres. The cultivation by that time consisted of approximately one third
arable (wheat, oats or peas), one third pasture and one third woodland and
waste.
Most of the land is wet soggy clay cut out of the forest and difficult to
cultivate. The existence of shaws cause shade and poor soil near the boundaries
of fields. It is thus not particularly suitable for growing cereals unless very
competently drained. In the earlier times ploughing was extremely difficult. 810 oxen or 4 horses were needed to draw a plough, and it was only possible to
plough half an acre in a day. Oxen were mainly used for ploughing and traction
until the middle of the 19th century. Attempts were made to lighten the soil by
marling or liming. The extent of this is shown by the field names given in the
Tithe Award lists of 1840, e.g. Marl Plat, Marl Croft, Little Marl Field, Kiln
Field, Lime Kiln Plat, Lower Kiln Plat, etc., and the indications of the
existence of the old lime kilns themselves. The lime was dragged by toiling oxen
all the way from the chalk pits of the downs along the terrible Sussex roads.
This practice was continued in use during the l7th century and even later. An
inventory of the effects of a Warnham husbandman gives details of the implements
used in liming. The chalk was heated in the kilns which were fed by furze grown
especially for the purpose. The Tithe Records show at least five fields
described as Furze, Old Furze and Furze field. By the early 19th century the use
of furze had declined due to the use of coal transported via the Wey and Arun
rivers.
During the Napoleonic wars, there was a great increase in the demand for
corn when much new land was ploughed up, and over 60% of the land in Warnham was
turned over to arable. The Tithe records of 1840 show that in the Parish 2893
acres were arable, 7l2 acres pasture, leaving 1292 acres of woodland, waste or
unaccounted for. Much of the land in the vicinity of the village is drained by
land drains, believed to have been laid by French prisoners of war in the war
years.
The other feature adversely affecting cultivation was the legacy from the
clearance of the forests in the form of the residual shaws, often on the reverse
and difficult slopes, which can still be seen today. This has not only, until
quite recently, dictated the small average size of the fields, but had its
adverse effect on adjacent crops and the quality of the land.
With these limitations, and with the difficulty of poor communications for
getting crops to market, it seems that even as late as the end of the 18th
century, except in wartime or emergencies, the growing of crops was secondary to
the grazing and restricted to what was necessary for the survival of the farmer,
his family and his stock.
In this latter regard oxen and horses have large appetites and the pretractor age was fuelled by crops grown to feed the draft animals on which so
much depended. The Sussex cattle were of a breed pre—eminently suitable for work
and for beef. In the 17th century they were highly praised by Mascall.
Admittedly they did not produce much milk, but it was of excellent quality. The
cows were not mated until 3 years of age, therefore their productive life did
not begin much before four. The oxen did better and started work at two. They
were used as draft animals until between six and ten years old, when they were
fattened for beef. The fattening diet for steers was based on vetches, peas,
boiled or dried barley, beans and elm leaves, surprising in a predominantly oat
growing area.
Horses were of a fairly light breed, which could be used on the land, as
the big heavy cart-horses were unsuitable for farm work owing to sinking deeper
in the heavy clay soil. The lighter breed however were not considered large
enough for van work, hence the reliance until much later, when the roads were
improved, on the oxen for haulage.
Apart from the cattle, the only other animal kept on any scale was the
hogge, which had been the original stock. These ran wild in the unenclosed
woodlands. Nearly every farm worker fattened one. It was his only source of
meat. Their diet was interesting. They were said to fatten best on dry meal and
beer. To quote "If you can make him drunk now and then you will make him into a
notable fat hog."
There was a considerable trade in fat hogs and this no doubt is what the
Warnham farmers drove to the various Horsham fairs. They were a black breed,
considered a good hardy species, equal to any other taking weight for age. In
1591 400 salted hogs were sent to the Navy at Southampton.
As already mentioned not many sheep were kept before the nineteenth
century, and these mostly Southdowns or Kents for wintering.
Geese were kept by farmers for the Xmas market and, right down to the end
of the 19th century many cottagers had the right to graze one or more geese on
Broadbridge Heath.
According to Henry Smith, born at Southwater in 1827, quoted in
"Causeway", from which much of the information in these notes is taken, the
poultry kept in the village would mostly be Surrey or Dorkings, which used to be
fatted by cramming - a cruel process — or caponned for the Xmas market. In many
old leases it was laid down that the farmer had to supply his landlord gratis
with two capons.
From quite early times a policy of rotation of crops seems to have been
followed. Depending on the times, anything between one third or one half of most
farms was cropped and the rest was meadow or woodland. The usual rotation, at
the time that the Rev. Arthur Young wrote in 1813, was fallow, wheat, oats and
ley, "as long as it will last". It is interesting to remember that, until the
coming of artificial fertilisers and selective weedkillers in the 1930s, many
farmers in this district found it necessary to leave their arable fields fallow
every third year.
Writing of the early nineteenth century Henry Smith describes the farming
implements in use (Causeway - Vol.V, p.94—95) "Ploughs were made of wood with
wrought iron fittings, the shares being about 3-feet long and the boys who drove
the ploughs used to take the shares to the blacksmith two or three times a
week . .... Horse harrows were for a pair of horses and drag harrows for four
horses. Rollers were made of wood generally. Wagons and carts were usually made
with six inch wheels to save the tolls and to avoid cutting into soft roads .."
Of the smaller tools - "...the most useful at that time, viz. the flail, on
which much depended, and which gave music to the farmers ear. An old fashioned
farmer was asked by his daughter for a musical instrument. His reply was that
there was no music equal to two flails and a cuckoo, as any farmer who could
hold over his corn until the cuckoo came was prosperous and wheat at that time
was usually at the highest price".
"Milking was generally performed by farmers wives, daughters and maidservants."
"Wheat, oats and barley were sown by hand; peas, beans also, unless a man
could be hired to dibble them in. A man with a pair of dibblers three feet long
with a sharp iron point, would walk backwards over the ploughed land, punching
holes at the end of the furrows into which the peas and beans were dropped by
five or six children who followed him having bags round their waists in which
they carried the peas or beans. An active man in this way would dibble an acre
of land in a day. The children were paid 4d. a day each and the dibbler was paid
6s. per acre."
"Reaping was the usual way of cutting wheat leaving stubble nearly a foot
high to be cut after the corn had been gathered in. Reaping cost from lO-l2s.
per acre; stubble cutting 2s. or 2/6d. per acre. Oats, barley, etc., were mown
with scythes. This was considered the hardest form of farm work. Hay-making too,
like the cutting of corn, was without the aid of machines, the hay being tossed
about by hand. This gave the women employment. They also did the weeding of the
corn, and were a great help to the farmers .... They were paid 1/- per day, the
men getting 2/- per day".
The first steam thrashing machine was not introduced to Warnham before
about 1865 by Albert Agate, farming at Bailing Hill, where he also manufactured
bone meal for the market. In the 1880s Moses Muggeridge ran a steam thrashing
machine from Maltmayes.
"Little of the land was suitable for roots, not many were grown. Only a
few acres of swedes and turnips ..... men were not used to hoeing .... and did
not like to hoe these."
According to Henry Smith "After the corn had been put into the barn or
stack thrashing usually began and, in the course of a few days, new samples of
wheat were put on the market. Wheat thrashing was paid for at the rate of 5d. or
6d. a bushel or 3/4d or 4/- per quarter unless the yield was very good. Men
could not thrash more than four bushels per day. Thrashing oats 1/4d. To 1/6d.
per quarter; other corn and pulse the same in proportion."
It will be seen that in this post—Napoleonic War period, arable
cultivation had been considerably increased, and this increased output from the
farms, but wages were miserably poor and there was much unemployment. During the
l830s, as described elsewhere, there were considerable agricultural disturbances
all over Sussex, and clearly the marketing of surplus crops presented
considerable problems.
"Farmers who had difficulty in marketing their butter and poultry etc.,
used to sell to men who came with a cart and were called "hucksters" who took it
to the market towns." (Henry Smith)
Wages were very low, only 10/- to 12/- per week by the day - farm
labourers who occupied the cottages or farm tenements paid l/6d. to 2/- per
week, and found it difficult to make ends meet. Most of them, however, had a
croft or large garden so they, or their wives, could keep their own pigs and
poultry and grow vegetables. Most of the wives too had to help on the farm to
increase earnings.
This "Golden Age" of corn was short—lived. The wheat grown on the soggy
land was of inferior quality compared to that of other areas and could not
compete with the influx of dry high quality wheat from the New World. The arable
areas were continually reduced in favour of pasture and dairying but, the
arrival of cheap refrigerated beef also from Argentina, Australia and New
Zealand in the 1870s, followed by a series of bad harvests, led to very hard
times. Most of the local farmers persisted with their beef cattle during the
second half of the 19th century but, towards the end of the century, a number of
West Country farmers moved into the area, complete with their dairy cattle,
encouraged by the low rent of farms in the area (£1-50 per acre compared with
£3-50 in Somerset) and the good communication by rail with the London market for
their milk, for which they were able to get 2d. per gallon more than in the West
Country. Thereafter dairy farming remained the most important aspect of farming
until World War I when the demand for home-produced corn increased and arable
farming again assumed priority. Between 1872 and 1909 40% of the former arable
land in Sussex became grassland, and no doubt Warnham corresponded to this
pattern. (Nationally between 1870 and 1914 the total corn area declined by 50%
and permanent grassland doubled.)
NOTES ON THE HISTORY
OF THE
OLDER HOUSES OF WARNHAM
__________________________
The following pages attempt to put together what we have gleaned about the
history of our older houses. The information is built up from such records as we
already know of. we hope, perhaps, to fill in a bit more about the owner- ship
of properties in the late 17th century from the Hearth Tax Records.
Owners could provide more detail about the houses, particularly about the
dates of construction and alterations.
WARNHAM COURT
=============
Built by Henry Tredcroft about 1828 in a neo—Elizabethan style, about the
time when Warnham Park and the Warnham Court estate began to assume its present
form. The nucleus of it, consisting of the central part of the Park, 190 acres
was bought in by his father, Nathaniel Tredcroft of Horsham, together with a
moeity of the Manor of Hollands (or Hallamps), from the descendants of Sarah
Michell, nee Rapley, and her son and daughter—in—law, John and Ann Michell (nee
Shelley) in 1806. The earlier ownership of this land has also been traced back
to the Carylls in the sixteenth century. The other moeity of the title to the
land and the Manor was purchased by Henry Tredcroft in 1828 from the executors
of Charles Child, who had bought it in 1821 from the descendants of the other
grand—daughter of Sarah Michell. Thus the original estate of some 500 acres was
re—united. (See Appendix VII).
Henry Tredcroft opened up the Park and started the Warnham deer herd about
this time.
On his death, in 1844, the Court and the Estate, which now included
further additions to the land both North and South of the original park (Great
Dorks and Broadfield from T.C. Medwin) and Southford and Enhams (20 acres) from
the widow of John Agate, was run for 10 years by trustees for Edward Tredcroft
and then bought in 1855 by Sir John Henry Pelly. He added a further 20 acres
known as Dawks and Sands (the area round Little Daux), and a number of cottages
and tenements in the village, he increased the deer herd and also made further
extensions to the House. Amongst these was the incorporation of some of the
original wooden screening, removed from Slinfold Church, in the back porch of
Warnham Court.
Sir John Pelly died in 1856 and the whole estate was purchased the
following year by Mr. C.T. Lucas, who made considerable alterations and
additions to the mansion. Over the next 30 years a number of farms and much of
the land formerly owned by the Shelleys, was taken over. These included Warnham
Mill (including Warnham Place), Rookwood, Broomlands, Roberts and Chantry Farms,
Lower Chickens and Hollands Farms, part of Farthings Farm and Park Farm, Westons
and Bailing Hill and Swans. In all the estate at its peak, in 1914, extended to
about 1500 acres.
WARNHAM LODGE
=============
Originally on the site of Benland Farm, an old Elizabethan farmhouse on to
which was added a wing (including a dining room and, possibly, a study, with a
new staircase to two or three bedrooms (one with dressing room above). This
conversion was in a pseudo-E1izabethan (Victorian) style.
This extension was probably carried out by William Norris Franklyn,
formerly of Northlands, between 1862 and 1866, and he lived there till about
l880. (Franklyn was a Churchwarden in 1847/8 and in 1862.)
In 1882 James Wheeler lived at Warnham Lodge and, in 1887, James Howie
Macfarlane. (Dates can be checked by consulting Kellys Directories between those
dates.)
Sir Henry Harben arrived between 1890 and 1895 and added a further wing
connected by a glassed-in passage to a big drawing room and billiard room with 2
bedrooms and bathrooms above - adding two more bathrooms to the older parts. He
also built a bachelors wing, for the visiting cricketers. (His main intention
was to establish cricketing weeks and there is yet much more to discover about
this aspect.) He also added the stables and clock-tower and coachman's cottage —
also a gymnasium (possibly converted from an older building) and added to an old
Farmhouse (Fowlers?) to make the Home Farm.
He died in 1911 and Warnham Lodge became the home of Mr.& Mrs. Thomas
Wharrie (daughter) and, later, Henry Eric Southey Harben.
In l939 a new house was built on an adjoining site facing northward over
the Surrey border, to replace the old one, which became a store for ??? during
World War II and was pulled down in 1961.
FIELD PLACE
===========
The earliest parts of this, now the kitchens, forming 3 sides of a
courtyard, are of the 15th century, but the first mention of it is as the home
of Richard Michell who died in 1524, so possibly it was first built by the
Michell family. A taller main block of two stories with heavy eaves and cornice,
and a stone roof, was added in the late 17th century - perhaps by John Michell,
the last member of the family to live there, or by his successor. He sold it to
Edward Shelley (1670—1747) about the end of the century, and the additions could
well have been made by him. The loggia between the wings of the new building was
added in 1846. As stated elsewhere Edward Shelley left it to his nephew,
Timothy, and it remained in the Shelley family until about 1930, although no
member of the family appears to have lived there after about 1850, when it came
into the ownership of Sir Percy Florence Shelley.
After this it was let successively to Adolphus & Thomas Briggs (1855-7),
William Innes (1857-1870), Edred Curwen (1870-?), Lt. Gen. G.E. Baynes (18851900 approx.), Gen. Sir Edward Hutton (1900-1910), Christopher Stone (1913-20),
and Admiral Sir Edmund Slade until about 1930.
In 1930 it was bought by Mr. Guy N. Charrington, who added a bay on the
North side, to match the South, incorporating a shell hooded door from Ipswich.
He also created the lake garden across the field in front of the house.
ENDES PLACE
===========
The present house was originally rebuilt following the destruction of The
Old House in 1830 (see Manor of Slaughterford). During this period it seems to
have been a small farmhouse, forming part of the estate of Mr. R.C. Barnett, and
in the occupation of Francis Wells until about 1860 when it was either leased or
purchased by William Churchman, Churchwarden in the parish for many years. It
was later owned by Mr. C.B. Owen from whom it was purchased by Mr. C.B. Gregson
in 1908, when it was extensively modernised as a gentleman's country house in
keeping with the estate which was now reconstituted within its original
boundaries.
ROWHOOK MANOR
=============
This appears originally to have been a farm cottage on Cradles farm of
about 1730 vintage, but the early parts may be much earlier.
In 1407, John Apsley, Lord of the Manor of Slaughterford, settled a
messuage with 2 gardens, 10 acres of arable land, 4 acres of meadow and 30 acres
of pasture on Roger Cradel and his wife. The farm thus probably began at this
time and the early parts of the house would have been built any time after that.
It was part of the Lands of John Carryll in 1566 and perhaps passed with
their other lands to the Michells. In 1840 it was part of the property of Mr.
R.C. Barnett of West House (who also owned Endes Place (Old House), Betchetts
and Charmans Farms). Cradles was farmed by George Naldrett from 1840 to about
1850 and then by Benjamin Muggeridge from 1850 until about the mid—eighties,
when most of the Barnett Farms were taken over by Mr. Edmund Farmer.
A drawing room and a Hall with a cellar were added to the cottage in the
1880s by Mr. Farmer and, by this time, it was known as Cradles Lodge, having
earlier been the home of Francis Wells on his retirement from Old House Farm
about 1871.
About 1897 it became the residence of Mr. Farmer, himself, and was known
as Oakhurst. On his death, about 1905, it was sold by his widow to Mr. G.N.
Dicken and it was probably at this time that it was further extended at the
back, with a billiard room, playroom and 3 rooms above. It was renamed Rowhook
Manor. Mr. Dicken lived there until after 1938.
CHATFOLDS
=========
Formerly this property was known as the Ryelands from the name of the
river Rhye, Rye or Ree (from the old English ‘ee = water, stream), where, in the
time of King John (about 1200), lived a yeoman family, de la Rhie or Atte Rye,
who took their name from the river. It passed through 3 or 4 generations of Ryes
to Roberto atte Rye about 1300-1320, when a female heir married one John
Chatfold, whence it now takes its name. This family held it, paying rent to the
Lord, possibly together with extensive lands including Benland (Benelands alias
Gibschulfolds), Maltmayes (Mould Mayes) and Northlands and other lands to the
West (later known as Scotts Bews & Dawes). Richard Chatfold owned lands in
Warnham, taxed at £2 in Henry III's Lay Subsidy of 1523/4. He was the second
largest landowner in this list. The family held Chatfolds at least until about
1609 when a modern Jacobean "mansion" was added to the old mediaeval hall of
which traces remain to this day. It was extensively restored by Mr. Geoffrey
Davis in the period 1928- ??? and further by Mr. Neil Maclean in 1958?
The house, prior to this, had been a small farmstead since the beginning
of the 19th century (Owned by James Landsdell, occupied by Thomas Muggeridge
1841 to about 1870; then to Mr. Benjamin Muggeridge but occupied by Henry
Killenor until 1899). It was then bought, together with Northlands, Scotts &
Dawes farms and a part of Stone Farm by Mr. John Pearman in 1913.
WESTON'S PLACE
==============
There are traces of the Weston family in Warnham from quite early times.
They were descendants of Adam de Westmeston, the great grandson of Radolphus
(Ralph) de Westmeston, who had the Manor of Wiston from Lord William de Braoze,
Lord of Bramber 1086. (See App. XII.)
About 1160, Walter de Westmeston held 4 knights fees of Lord William de
Braoze. His sons were William, Lord of Wiston, who held Ashurst and Ifield about
1180 and Adam de Westmeston, of Surrey, who had numerous descendants settled as
far afield as Warnham, Sutton, Mayfield and Rotherfield, about 1200.
In the l4th Century, Walter de Weston was the Vicar of Warnham.
In 1442, an Agnes de Weston was the sub-Prioress of the Nunnery at Rusper.
The last entry under that name in the Parish register was in 1643. Very
possibly this was the same John Weston of Warnham who was fined in the time of
Charles I in a subsidy to compound for failure to appear in his coronation
though qualified by his holding of land to take up the responsibility of
knightshood.
In the late 17th early 18th Century, Westons may have been in the hands of
the Middleton family when it passed to Denzil Onslow, son of Rt. Hon. Arthur
Onslow (1691-1768), Speaker of the House of Commons, on his marriage to Ann
Middleton, daughter of Thomas Middleton, (a Horsham family). It remained in the
Onslow family until 1809 when the property was bought by James Tshudi Broadwood,
as part of his extensive lands in Warnham.
It was farmed by Benjamin Potter until about 1855 when it was taken over
by William Nash until 1898.
It was subsequently purchased by Mr. C.J. Lucas, as part of the Warnham
Court estate, in 1898.
GEERINGS
========
(formerly known as Thecchers or
Thatchers or Hills.)
Thecchers or Thatchers alias Hills, together with Cocks (or Cokkes) and
Chekyns, belonged about 1500 to the second John Mychell, brother of Richard, of
Field Place. He also seemingly owned land in the North of the Parish known as
Northland, alias Brookes and Ghylls, Nashland, Sladeland and Dennymeade. These
latter had "belonged" to John Carryl in 1566 but seem to have come back to John
Mychell's grandson, John (1576- 1605) — see Inq.p.m. of John Carrill. App.
Thatchers, however, was sold by Henry Bartelot of Stopham and Walter
Bartelot, Lord of the Manor of Denn in Warnham, in 1610, to John Evershed of
Evershed, Ockley, and remained in the ownership of that family until 1741, being
leased or mortgaged for various periods to a number of different tenants. It
will be remembered that the Eversheds claimed the Manor of Denn in Warnham
during this period.
The supposition is that both the Carylls and the Michells also paid dues
to the Lord of the Manor for this estate, but were not resident. The original
Thecchers may possibly have been Durfold by its situation between Geerings and
Chickens, and because it is more likely to have been the residence of the
Michell family than is Geerings itself, which was originally nothing more than 2
or 3 farm cottages. (This might be further investigated when it is possible to
date the original buildings.)
Edward Evershed sold the title of Thatchers & Hills to John Boorer of
Durfold in 1741. In 1802 it was bequeathed by another John Boorer to William
Cooper, Innkeeper of Horsham, and it was bought by Nathaniel Tredcroft, through
T.C. Medwin in 1810, becoming an early addition to the original Warnham Park
estate. It was subsequently leased to Robert Steele and, later, became two more
farm cottages until purchased by Mr. Shepherd.
GREAT DAUX
==========
(formerly Docks or Dorks)
The earlier ownership of this has not been traced. It may be Tawkes,
referred to in the Inq.p.m. of John Carrell in 1566.
It was in the ownership of the Pilfold family by the middle of the
seventeenth century and remained with them until it passed from John Pilfold,
who died in 1794, to his daughter and son-in-law, Thomas Charles Medwin, (who
was Steward both of the Duke of Norfolk and of the Manor of Denn in Warnham, as
well as being the Clerk of the Borough of Horsham, and a number of other posts),
for his son John who, unfortunately, so encumbered it on his expectations that
Medwin was forced to sell it to Nathaniel Tredcroft in 1826 to pay off the
mortgages.
At this time the land was occupied, in common with much of the Warnham
farmland and what is now Warnham Park, by Robert Redford, a Horsham butcher and
his two sons.
It subsequently formed part of the Warnham Court Estate and the house was
occupied as two tenements.
COX'S FARM
==========
(sometime Cockes, Cokkes, Cockerles
or Mannsells.)
This also formed part of the Mychell of Thecchers estate in the 17th
century, but the original building is probably of earlier date.
Rumour has it that it was a hunting lodge of Henry VIII where he had an
affair with a serving wench but this is not substantiated. There is a possible
connection with the Hall family, and this might be followed up.
It almost certainly belonged at one time to the Manor of Denn, and
presumably with that came into the possession of the Broadwood estate about
1821, where it remained until bought by C.J. Lucas in 1907.
MALTMAYES
=========
This is an early 15th century timbered house into which chimneys were
built in the late 16th century. It was renovated in the late 19th century when
it became the property of Sir Henry Harben as part of the Warnham Lodge estate.
The early history is not easy to establish and the name or anything like
it cannot be established as part of the land of the Carylls.
It is reputed as Mould Mayes in the Water Bailiff's "High Stream in
Arundel Rape" of 1657, and also as the land of the Mays. It was occupied at that
time by Robert Rapley (no doubt one of the family of Thomas Rapley, who acquired
a part of the Michells lands, about 1588, and which returned to them on the
marriage of Sarah Rapley with Edmund Michell about 1680).
Walter le May appears in the Lay Subsidy of 1296 and this may be the
original owner. There is, however, to confuse matters, Mayes Park, and at one
time what is now Westbrook Hall was shown also as Mays Farm in the Tithe Award
map. It appears as Little Mays in Gardner & Greaves map of 1745 and as Mays Farm
in Greenwoods Map of 1825.
There are, alas, no title deeds to show the earlier occupation of
Maltmayes. It was probably owned from 1832 onwards by Mr. R.C. Barnett until
about the mid-eighties, when Mr. Edmund Farmer took over. For most of the first
half of the nineteenth century it would appear to have been let off as three
tenements. From about 1860 it was occupied by Daniel Muggeridge and, later,
Moses Muggeridge who, latterly, owned a steam thrasher, and then by Michael
Kilner who also farmed Chaffields Farm, until the property was purchased by Sir
Henry Harben.
SANDS FARM
==========
This is,a fifteenth century timber framed farmhouse.
One, Johanne at Sondes, is named in the Lay Subsidy of 1296, so the
property was certainly one of the earliest of the outlying farmsteads.
Possibly known as Sondes in the 16th century, the Sondes Lands in Warnham
were in the possession of John Michel, son of the first Richard Michell of Field
Place. He married Mary Lewkenor, (probably a descendant of the Lewkenors, Lords
of the Manor of Warnham c.1370-1425 so these lands might have come through her.
John Michell died in 1555. However, the Sondes meade was amongst those
properties shown in the will of John Carrell in 1566.
The title becomes obscured in the 17th century, though documents exist for
a property known as "Dawks and Sands", transferred to the Warnham Court estate
in 1857. The latest Indenture of this unsorted bundle of documents, refers to an
area of 20 acres, now forming part of Warnham Park and including Little Daux,
but not Sands itself which, by this time, is known to have been in the
possession of Mr. Thomas Barnett, who also owned Cider Mill Farm, Joanland
and ??? and it was farmed by Edward Stanford and, later, William Stanford
between 1841 and 1871. It later became part of the Warnham Lodge estate, though
whether it was bought in by Mr. W.N. Franklyn or Mr. Wheeler before the arrival
of Sir Henry Harben is not yet clear. It was sold with the Warnham Lodge estate
in 1961 to Professor Rodney Dales.
If we can assume however that Sands may have formed part of the same
estate as Little Daux, we can go back to 1648 when it seems to have come into
possession of Thomas Borer of Warnham (from John Rowlands of London) and
remained in that family till 1707 when it was bought by John Agate, and remained
with one branch of the Agate family (who owned other properties in Warnham)
until in 1780 it became part of the marriage settlement of Elizabeth Agate on
her marriage to William Stanford of Ashurst, and remained in possession of the
Stanford family until the Daux property was sold to Sir John Pelly of Warnham
Court in 1857. By this time clearly Sands had passed into the possession of Mr.
Barnett, but it is of interest that it was still being farmed by Stanfords, but
whether these were members of the same family we cannot say.
OLD MANOR
=========
The early history of this is obscure but the earlier parts of the building
date from the 15th century. No separate title exists before but, round about
1720, it was in the possession of John Wicker, M.P. for Horsham and a
considerable landowner in Horsham and Roffey, also entitled to the Rectory of
Warnham. The Title to Street Farm, 54 acres, which included Old Manor, although
at this time it was only a farm cottage, passed to his daughter, Charlotte and,
through her, to the Rev. Sir Thomas Boughton, in 1786. There was a long and
complex lawsuit concerning the Rectory of Warnham and, in 1792, Street Farm was
conveyed to Timothy Shelley Esq., later Sir Timothy.
In 1827 the farm was leased by Sir Timothy to James Harding and in the
Tithe Award map it is shown as Gardens Farm. From 1855, it was leased to John
Agate until 1876, and may have been used partly in conjunction with the timber
works, hence the large barns.
There is however a possibility that Old Manor was at one time the demesne
farm of the Manor of Warnham, and known as Court Hall or Nob House, according to
summonses for a Court Baron in both 1827 and 1851, which might also account for
the large barns.
In November 1888 Street Farm was leased from Sir Timothy Shelley by Mr.
C.T. Lucas, who finally purchased it from Sir Charles Shelley in 1897, when it
became an integral part of the Warnham Court Estate.
It was occupied firstly by Peter Paxton, former bailiff to Mr. Lucas and,
in 1895, to James Garman, who also ran a wood and coal business there and at
Cider Mill Farm. After one or two other tenancies, the last man to farm there,
as such, at Knob Hill Farm, was William Stott from 1909 to ??? when it was sold
to ??? and converted as at present to a gentleman's residence.
CIDER MILL FARM
===============
Little is known about the origins of this property, sometimes known as
Three Styles Farm and, in earlier documents, referred to as Highfield or
Hilland, alias Suzzfield — probably referring to the fields rather than the
farm.
It was evidently in the possession or occupation of Richard Redford, who
also leased much of the Warnham land, including Lower Chickens, Great Daux and
the main area of Warnham Park purchased by Nathaniel Tredcroft. In 1852 the
property was transferred to Mr. Thomas Barnett who also owned Sands and, later,
about 1875 it was purchased by Mr. James Wheeler of Warnham Lodge.
In 1845 the farm was extended by the purchase of a plot of waste land
alongside Cider Mill Lane and the Ockley Road from the Lords of the Manor (J.W.
& W.A. Commerell). It was purchased by C.T. Lucas about 1890.
BAILING HILL FARM
=================
Built probably about 1400 this was the property and seat of John Pilfold
of Baylings and Rusper who died in 1565 and remained in that family, which later
owned also Daux and other land in Warnham, at least until the mid-18th century
and, possibly, until 1791 when Elizabeth Pilfold married Sir Timothy Shelley of
Field Place. The house and farm was certainly part of the Shelley estate until
1914 when it was sold by Lord Abinger, the nephew and heir of Lady Shelley,
widow of Sir Percy Florence Shelley, to Mr. C.J. Lucas. During the period 18501899 it was farmed by the Agate family, Albert Agate for most of the time and,
from 1899 to 1914, by Henry Piper.
BROOMHALL
=========
This must be one of the earliest independent properties in Warnham. The
earliest reference to it however is possibly as Bottynges, otherwise Baxys
Bromehokes in the Inquest P.M. of John Carrell 1566.
It is shown on Richard Budgens map of 1724 as a Manor house but the
ownership is not known.
It would appear to have come into the ownership of John Agate together
with Randalls and Chantry Farms by purchase from John Ayling of Tillington in
1786. John Agate owned properties at Bolney, in Horsham and elsewhere and he may
be of the same family who owned Sands. He died in 1743 leaving 4 sons and a
daughter Elizabeth, married to William Stanford (see Sands). John, the eldest
son, inherited the Broomlands properties and passed these to his daughter Sarah
Wood, wife of John Wood, who died in 1841. These properties were left jointly to
their four sons William, James, Thomas and Edward, and the land was farmed first
by John Wood until 1845, then William Wood until they were bought out by Mr.
C.T. Lucas in 1877.
The earliest parts, including the Old Hall, now part of the kitchen, are
of 14th or 15th century, but the house has been modernised by the addition of a
19th century block in front.
Since it became part of the Warnham Court Estate it was let to a
succession of tenants right up until World War II when it became the home of Mr.
C.E. Lucas.
DURFOLD
=======
(sometimes Darval or Durval)
UPPER CHICKENS
==============
This may have been formerly known as the Skenches, Upper Skenches and
Nether Skenches, in the time of the Carylls.
LOWER CHICKENS
==============
APPENDIX I
The De BRAOZE SUCCESSION
========================
William de Braoze
= ? de Totenis
(Lord of Bramber – 1086)
Philip de Braoze
= Aenor
(banished by Henry II 1119)
Philip de Braoze = Eva
William de Braoze = Bertha of Hereford
William de Braoze = Matilda de St Valery
(d. 1212)
William de Braoze = Matilda de Clare
(died at Bramber)
Giles (Bishop of Hereford)
d. 1215
Reginald = Grace Brewer
(d. 1224)
William de Braoze = Eva
(hanged 1230)
(d. of Earl of Pembroke)
John de Braoze = Margaret
(d. 1232)
(d. of Llewellyn)
William de Braoze = (1) Isabel de Clare
(d. 1296)
= (2) Agnes de Mods = (3) Mary de Roos
William de Braoze = Alina de Multon
(d. 1326)
Alina = John de Mowbray (d. 1321)
(created Lord of Bramber)
+ others
Maud
Eva
Aliana
Isabella
Giles de Braoze = (1) Beatrix de St Elena
(d. 1304)
= (2) Maud de Witney
Joan = de Bohun
Lucy
John
1st Duke of Norfolk
Richard = Alice
(d. 1295)
Peter = Agnes
(d. 1312)
William = Eleanor
Thomas de Braoze = Beatrix de Mortimer
(1300-1362)
(d. 1362)
John = Elizabeth de Montagu
Thomas
(d. 1395)
Margaret
Others
Thomas
= Margaret
(1350-1395) (d. 1444)
Johanna
(d. 1395)
4 Others
APPENDIX II.
THE NUNNERY OF ST.MARY MAGDALENE,RUSPER
(BENEDICTINE).
Founded by Gervaise, Archbishop of Canterbury in the reign of Richard I,
(1189-99), who conferred on it the Manor of Prestwood. Before 1204, William de
Braoze conferred on it the impropriation of Warnham, whilst two others gave the
churches of Ifield and Selham. These were confirmed by Siffrid II, Bishop of
Chichester in 1204. Later, in 1231, John de Braoze added the Church of Horsham.
The income from Warnham was small. The "spiritualities" in 1291 amounted
to £31-6-8, whilst lands, rents, etc., only amounted to £l3-1-1½. The other
rectories seem to have been of a similar wealth.
The wealth of the Nunnery seems to have grown little and various reports
in the 14th & 15th century suggest that it was not very productive. In one
presentation (Dallaway & Horsfield), it appears that more of the income went to
the support of the Prioress's relations and little was done to advance the nuns
in their religious professions.
The Nunnery was closed, as such, when Henry VIII suppressed the
Monasteries in 1537. The last prioress, Elizabeth Sidney, was pensioned off and
her sole remaining companion, Elizabeth Hays, was turned out with £5.
The rectory of Warnham, with the others, now vested in the King who
bestowed it on Sir Robert Southwell, a tool of Cromwell in the suppression of
the Monasteries and, later (1542), Master of the Rolls. He also later received
the Manors of Rusper, Prestwood, Warnham & Hewells, with tenements in these
manors and in Horsham, but how far this impinged on the rights of the Lords of
the Manor of Denn in Warnham (the Bartellots of Stopham), is not clear.
The site of the Nunnery was later exchanged by Southwell with the Queen,
who was in possession of it in 1582 and, in 1591, she granted it to John Cooper,
Sergeant-at-Law, in consideration of £647-4-7, to be held as the Manor of East
Greenwich by fealty only. Cooper sold it to Richard Haybourne, who settled it on
his daughter Elizabeth, wife of Robert Stone.
APPENDIX III
EARLY WARNHAM INHABITANTS
Evidence from Subsidies & Taxes.
Reference Sussex Record Society - Vol.V, pp.57,154 & 269.
Special Taxes or Subsidies were levied by the King in 1296, l327 & 1332.
This gives some idea of the administrative set up in the Rape of Bramber, and
also an opportunity to compare names of the freeholders at those times, which is
interesting.
In the 12th Century the former Domesday fiefs began to break up into more
or less independent units or villates.
The earlier division into counties, hundreds and tithings is ascribed to
King Alfred. Originally tithings applied to the old English institution of
Frankpledge, whereby every free adult of 12 years old or upwards was bound to
enrol himself in association with 10 or 12 of his neighbours, each member of the
association or tithing being responsible to the King for the production of any
offender required for punishment. The tithing later came to represent a district
and, later, these became Villates.
1296. In the 1296 subsidy Warnham appears as "Villat de Warnham and
Shrottesfield" under the Hundred of Steyning in the Rape of Bramber. The
Hundred of Single cross may therefore be a later creation.
The list contains 64 names assessed at anything from 1/- up to 10/0½
(Willmo de Affold) giving a total levy for the Villat of £10-1-2½.
Other names which have a later Warnham or local connotation include
Willmo le Combre
Rico atte Pond
Ad.le Child
Simon de Kyngesfolde
Hen. de Lynins
Rado atte Rye (Chatfolds)
Ad. de Shyrmarke
Fuller
1327.
Palmer
Johan le Mose
Willmo le Fust
Rado de Stanstrete (Rowhook?)
John atte Sonde (Sands?)
Simon atte Blackstroode (Strood?)
Johan de Langhurst.
Robo Clymping.
In 1327 the Villat evidently becomes more local and shows an
increase in freeholders in the reduced area. Several of the 1296 Roll
names disappear suggesting that they belonged rather to Shrottesfield,
which disappears from the Roll, probably now being part of the Villat of
Horsham, which later was included in Horsham as a district called
Shortfield. (Horsham itself, in both rolls, was shown as the "Burgus de
Horsham".) Two new Villats, Rouspar and Nothurst, appear under the Rape of
Bramber in this Roll.
The assessments vary this time between 6d. and 3/1, giving a
total revenue of £2-10-10¼ for this smaller area. The names of freeholders are
Thomas Duly
Johe de Sloghterforde
Henry atte Rowhook
Johe Combre
Rico le Thecher
Rico le Fust
Ad. Ede
Ad. Child
Thomas atte Hath
Willo de Weston
Willmo atte Lake
Walter at Farthing
Rich. le Frensh
Willo le Whyte
Cella atte Rye
Roberto le Monde
Rico Rykeman
Alicia Shirmark
John Palmer
1332.
In 1332 the Roll for the villat de Warnham produced a total of
£4—3-7½ with assessments between 5/- and 6/6¾. (This could be because of a
higher rate, or it could show that the Villat was more prosperous.)
Many of the names were similar, and several suggest the modern
localities of their holding, viz.:Thom. Dollye
Johe le Palmer
Ad Ende
Rico le Theccher(Geerings?)
Rico atte Becchette
(Betchetts)
Stepho de Sloghterford
(Slaughterford)
Willo Alpha
Willo le White
Thom atte Cluse
Johe Ventre
Johe de Kyngesfold
Rico. le Fust
Ad. atte Shirmarke
Willo atte Rye (Chatfolds).
Walto. at Farthing (Farthings)
Rico. Ende (?Endes)
Johe le Langenhurst (Langhurst)
Willo Grauntpound.
Willo Weston (Westons)
Johe Langenhurst Jun.
Reference Sussex Archaeological Collections Vol.X, p.129
1411
A later subsidy of Henry IV in 1411 mentioned three other persons
with lands in Warnham —
Jeffrey Inglere, who had manors and lands in Tadham worth £5, Little
Hamptones £l0-13-4, Warnham £l-6-8 and in Chichester £4.
John Warnecamp — lands in Arundel £10, Yapton £2 and Warnham £3, Rowsper
£3 and Slyndefold £2.
Lady de Cheynes - Lands lately Juliana Romayns £8.
Sussex Archaeological Collections Vol.XVI, p.45.
1630.
In the time of Henry II or III a fine was imposed by the King on
persons holding lands to a value of £10 or £l5 p.a. to take up the
liability for knighthood. This was raised to a value of £40 in the time of
Henry VIII.
Charles I in 1629 decided to use this means of raising revenue and
appointed a Commission to compound, with those concerned, for their nonappearance in his coronation.
Included in the list for Bramber Rape was John Weston, Gent. of
Warnham, who compounded in 1630 for £l0.
Subsidy on Income by Henry VIII
l523/4.
Subsidy imposed by Henry VIII, for the prosecution of the war with
France. This was based on assessed income at various rates, to be paid
over 4 years.
The roll is of interest as it shows the amount assessed together
with the basis of assessment - Goods (G), Lands (L), Wages (W), Yearly Wages
(A), Yearly Wages of day labourers (D); Profits (P), Fees or Salaries of office
(F). (Where unmarked, basis not shown.)
Margaret Caryll (L)
50
William Blake
2
Walter Fuller, her
servant.
Richard Blake " (A)
Nicholas Rede " (A)
John Clawser
Robert Thornden
John Ede
Ralph Farnfold
Wm.Love, his servant(A)
Thomas Charman
Thomas Stone
Richd.Mylle,the elder
Richd.Mylle, " younger
(A)
Richard Pylfold
John Weller, his
servant (A)
Thomas Weller
John Sloughterford
Richard Roser
William Hunt
Thomas Elyott
Richard Chatfold (L)
William Elyott
John Myll
Thomas Maye
Alys Auxborne
Margaret Mose
Richard Mose
Thomas Nye
John Dary, his
servant (W)
6
1
1
20
20
20
40
1
6-13-4
3
6-15-4
1
l3—6-8
1
4
2-13-4
2
5-6-8
2
2
2
4
2
3
2
2d.
33
Thomas Chaundler
Thomas Hayn
John Trower
William Penfold
John Polyng
William Busse
Rich'd Sloughterford(W)
William Hardyng
John Pykard
William Pykard
John Ede of Cokec
Henry Trower (W)
Richard Copar
Thos.Dunnyng
Henry Bottyng
Thomas Maye
Thomas Elyott
William Wright
John Gardner
Robert Smyth, his
servant (W)
Thomas Mose
Robert Myllys
William Mann
Richard Mychell
of Colstaple
Richard Wryght
James Fuller
Wm.Westwode (W)
Stephen Polyngton
l
and the following day-labourers all assessed at £1 Richard Myll, junior
John Auxborne
Richard Charman
Thomas Wodden
John Somersale
Richard Lydsey
Thomas Elyott
John Warsheford
John Gale
Henry Mose
John Hever
Henry Cokke
Thomas Lever
Sparer.
10
3
4
5
2-13-4
5
1
2
10
2
10
1
5
6-13-4
5
2
20
10
6-13-4
1
3
5
10-13-4
15
10
10
1
2
APPENDIX IV
THE MANOR OF SLAUGHTERFORD
CLAIMANTS IN THE SUCCESSION
IDE or EDE
==========
John IDE or EDE
claimed Manor in 1547
Jeames Ede = Mary (probably Gratwyk of Cowfold)
b. Warnham
d. 1580
d. 1591
John
1571-86
James = Pacience*
1573-90 (widow of ? Saye)
m. (3) Thomas Nye
Pacience
b.1589
James
(minor in 1590)
Richard
1576-77
John Ede = Mary
d. 1577
Mary
1578-
Margaret = ? Dearinge*
d. 1609
Dorothy
(inherited Byfleets or Eastlands
from brother James)
Mary
* Richard Deering joint plaintiff
for Manor with Thomas &
Pacience Nye in 1623
Line died out
YOUNGE
======
William Younge (of Henfold, Capel)
John Younge of Capel & Warnham = Joane Cowper of Cowfold
d. Warnham 1629
(dau of John Cowper & Elizabeth Okendon)
William Younge = Elizabeth Stone
(of Capel)
(dau of Ralph Stone
b. 1599
of Capel & Rusper)
Okendon Younge = Joan Dalton
(of Warnham)
(of Ewhurst)
d. 1630)
Thomas = Grace Pilfold
(of Warnham)
John
(of Ockley)
John
Edmund
Elizabeth
John
Thomas
Elizabeth = Geo. Naldrott Jane
(of Rudgwick)
Bridget
YATES
=====
Richard Yates Esq.
Joint Plaintiff (with John Pilfold) for Manor 1637
J.P. Horsham 1653(?) to 1657 d. 1657
Henry Yates = Jane ? Stydolfe who m. (2) Sir Henry Onslow (issue Altham Onslow)
and (3) John Amherst
Henry Yates = Jane ?
1659-95
d. 1681
buried in Irish linen
John
(1671-6)
Henry
(1688-95)
Elizabeth Yates = Jeffrey Amherst
(of Bletchingley)
Jane
(1673-)
Richard
(b 1698)
Margaret
(1675-)
Elizabeth = Abraham Godfrey
Thomas
= (1) Margaret Miller
(b. 1693)
dau of Sir John Miller
MP for Chichester
MP for Chichester
Margaret
d. 1717
Thomas
d. 1723
Jeffery
(1677-)
Francis
(1678)
Richard
(1678-81)
Bartholomew
(1691-1700)
Charles
(1681-2)
3 or 4 other
daughters
Mary
= Rev.T. Manningham
(b 1689) (possibly later or earlier
'Hayley')
Note:
Sir John Miller, Thomas Steele and John Laker claimed
Manor in 1751 from Thomas & Margaret Yates, Mary
Haley (widow) and Margaret and Elizabeth Yates
(spinsters). Elizabeth later married Abraham Godfrey.
APPENDIX V
The CARRYLS of WARNHAM, WEST HARTING & WEST GRINSTEAD
=====================================================
John Carrell or Caryll
= (1) Griselda Belknap (d. 1523)
Sergeant-at-Law ct. of Henry VIII (2) Margaret Ellen Bridge
Purchased Cradyll Yelland 1513
(buried at Warnham)
d. 1540
Edward
Elizabeth
(3) Jane Read
Robert
George
Thomas
(Parson at
Slinfold ?)
John
= Elizabeth Palmer
Sergeant-at-Law
of Parham
Attorney of Duchy of Lancaster
d. 1566 buried Warnham
John
d. 1558
Margaret
Dorothy
Griselda = Sir T Palmer
of Parham
Thomas
= (1) Dorothy Buckenham
of Warnham
= (2) Mary Wrighte
(died Warnham 1563)
Mary
Elizabeth
Ann
Cicely
Sir Edward = (1) Johan Warnecomb
of Harting
=(2) Philippa Gage
1537-1609
knighted 1605
Philippa = Sir Thomas Shirley
of West Grinstead
Sir John
= Mary Cotton
of Warnham
of Warblington
1557-1613
(commemorated in Warnham Church)
Sir John of
Warnham & Harting
1583(heir to Sir Richard
of Harting)
Elizabeth = John Cotton
of Warblington
Mary
Edward
b. 1597
= Mary
dau of Lord Dormer
Henry
d.1588
Frances ?
Philippa
George
d. 1583
Sir Thomas = (1) Mary Tufton
b. Warnham 1571
(2) Margaret _
(3) Elizabeth Wotton
Sir Richard
of Harting
d. 1616
Elizabeth
Thomas
d. 1579
Bridget = Molyneux
(Title reverted to
Warnham branch)
Elizabeth = Sir Garett-Kempe
of Slindon
Margaret = Sir Philip Howard
Dorothy
John
= Catherine
b. 1603 at Warnham
d. 1681
John of Goodwood
= Margaret Drummond
b. 1625, Attainted 1674
Created Baron Caryll by
Old Pretender 1701
d. 1711
Peter
1631-86
(Monk)
John
= Elizabeth Harrington
1667-1706 of Ore
at Harting
Peter
John
= Mary MacKenzie
1687-1718 dau of Lord Seaforth
at Harting
Catherine
b. 1686 at
W. Grinstead
John Baptist Carryl = (1) Dorothy Molyneux
d. 1787
(2) Mary Scarisbrook
Elizabeth
Mary
Richard
= Frances Bedingfield
William
Charles
1635-1701
1633-34
1638
of W. Grinstead
and Harting
Philip of Shipley 3 Daughters
1642-88
(All Nuns)
Richard
Edmund
Mary
b. 1666
Others
(Resided abroad – self-styled English Baron from
title of his GG-Uncle John of Goodwood)
Frances
b. & d. 1679
APPENDIX VI
INQUEST POST MORTEM
John Carrell or Cagyll,Esg., died – 10/3/8 Elizabeth
(1566) in London.
Source — Sussex Record_Society, Vol.III,Ing.PM.
Heir — grandson John Carrell — age 9.
Executors — Thomas Mychell and Robert Younger.
Digested summary of devised properties included in the Inquest :"Capital messuage in Warnham in which he dwelt and all lands and tenements
in Warnham called Warnham Garden, Warnhams lands, the Brodefelde,
Culverfelde, Eastfelde, Cobcroft, Northcroft, Bryckhoste, Southfelde, Great
Coneyfelde, Lyttle Coneyfelde, Wallers croft, Ryvermeades, formerly Fystes
Furnynges, with Furningesmeade, Kanyng—marshe, Withyottes, Withyottes
croftes, Wykinges meads and all that portion of his lands called ? late
acquired of Richard Foyce, tanner." ............ and "lands and tenements
called heathye lands otherwise Slaughterfordes Langhurst, formerly
Slaughterfordes ........... and of these lands and tenements in Warnham
called the Skenches, Upper Skenches, nether Skenches, Hooke and Kyngesfolde
mead". (These lands included "the Sandes meade and the Chapell lands").
Amongst other properties mentioned, though not all appear to be in Warnham,
are —
"The Manor of Nutham, the Theale Cosens, Kinges Fullers, Tusmans, Denland,
Pargittes England, the Calcott, otherwise Foyces Calcott, Slaughterforde
Langhurst, otherwise the heathye land, Tawkes (?Dawks), Upper Skenches (the
Hookes, Kingesfolde meads), nether Skenches, the leame Wyllerouches,
Collens, Hallamps, Hamonds, the Grete, Bardeseyes landes, Collens, Collens
meads, Collens garden, Alysaunders otherwise Turnors, the Church felde with
a garden and three acres of land formerly (Alysaunders called the) Lake,
Cokerles otherwise Cokkes, otherwise Maunselles, and the Gyll in Horsham,
Nuthurst, Rowsparr, Warnham, Rudgwyke and Wysborowghe Grene."
Note. Many of these names are similar to names in Warnham found in other
sources, but it is difficult to place them.
...... ; and all the manor or tenement of Justes and the capital messuage
in which he (refers to deceased son John Carrell) (lived) in the parish of
Warnham and all the messuages, houses, lands etc., in Warnham, called the
Justes, the Eastfelde, Cobbcroftes, Northcroftes, Wythyottes (Furnings
Warnehams) land, Warnehams garden, the Bryckhoste, Wallers Croftes,
Kanyngmarshe, Brodefelde, Wardes, Stylars, Tanners, Brookers and the
Northland ( ... and "Hilles" and various other lands in Horsham). (John
Carell, decd., was evidently son of John Carril or Caryll, Serjeant-at—
law.)
John Fuller and Thomas Churcher were appointed as trustees for the above.
They also held "a messuage and divers lands called Bottinges, otherwise
Baxys Bremehookes, the (Lyons the Maplefelde) the Pytfelde, the Sandes meade;
and a parcel of land in Warneham called the Lakeland, and of certain lands in
Warneham called Fardingland and Chauntrye lands, and of certain lands there
called Palmers, Towners, Oldhaynes and Brokes; and of certain lands in Warneham
called the Rec, Cradells, Hornes, and Wylberhetts and of certain lands and
tenements in Horsham called Stroode-land, otherwise Wardenland, the greatefelde
otherwise Butlersfelde, Buttlers, Buttlers meads, Buttlers Chauntrye, Woodredan"
etc., etc.
(The above are also mostly identifiable as being in Warnham but the whereabouts
have not been established. He also owned various other properties in
Byllingeshurst, Shipleye, Somptynge, Houghton and various other manors.
Note. The above properties passed to his grandson John, aged 9 at the time, son
of his 2nd son Thomas, his eldest son John having predeceased him. This boy
John, (1557-1613) became Sir John Caryll of Warnham. The estate of his cousin,
Sir Richard of Harting reverted to the Warnham branch through Sir John's son.
APPENDIX VII
MICHELL of STAMMERHAM AND FIELD PLACE WARNHAM
=============================================
John MICHELL = Alice ?
of Stammerham
d. 1474
Henry Michell
(lands in Itchingfield &
Shipley)
d. 1513 (separate branch)
John Michell
= Margaret
of Stammerham
Richard Michell
= Mary ?
of Field Place & Stammerham
(Buried Warnham Church
1524. Left £40 to build
Church Tower)
John Michell
of Thecchers
(see separate line
Appendix VIII)
Henry Michell = Elizabeth ?
d. 1538
George
John = Jane ?
Henry = Alice ?
d. 1553
Richard
b. 1516
John = Mary Lewknor
d. 1555
Owned Sondes Lands Warnham
Edward
5 daughters
Roger
= (1) Barbara
of Field Place
= (2) Mary Cole
1575-1621
Margaret = H. Clowser
Avery
= Marion
d. 1588 at
Warnham
John = Bridget ?
Elizabeth = John Hall
Elizabeth = Greenfield
Samuel
b. 1542
Mary = John Graver
Joan = (1) Thomas Rapley
d. 1611
Issue
Marion
Mary
Thomas
Jone
Henry = Elizabeth
Thomas
Yeoman of Field Place .
of Stammerham
Buried Warnham 1582.
b. 1518. Left lands
(Left land his father
in Horsham & Rusper.
bought from Roser)
(see separate Stammerham
line, Appendix VIII B
John = Mary Gresham
of Stammerham
1557-1610
Elizabeth = H. Marden
Edward
Issue
Thomas
George
Susannah John = Elizabeth
b. 1622
Mary = Thomas Agate
d. 1633
John of Field Place = (1) Joan Wheatley
(1644-1702)
(2) Mary Shelley nee Cheale
(Sold Field Place to
(Widow of Timothy Shelley.
Edward Shelley)
wife of Edward Shelley)
(see Shelleys of Warnham
Appendix XII)
Wheatley
d. 1700
Richard
b. 1680
Elizabeth
d. 1678
John
d. 1701
Mary
b. 1675
Ann = Thomas Slyfold
1671-1709
Edmund = Sarah Rapley
owned Rapley Estates,
Warnham Park
Thomas (1)
1652-3
Barbara
b. & d. 1677
Thomas (2)
b. 1655
Ann
b. 1648
Edmund
Rapley
John = Ann Comber
John
= Ann Shelley
1708-1740 (m2 John Parr)
Rev. Samuel Shuckford = Anne
1757-1797
1735-98
(1) John Nicholls
= Anne Shelley Shuckford
(2) Nicholas Charrington
Sarah = Timothy Poston
Sarah = Thomas Wood
Helen Catherine = John Miller
1737-1811
Henrietta
1739-1778
Anne Miller = James Street
Joint heirs to Sarah Rapley's lands in Warnham
(Major part of Warnham Park)
APPENDIX VIII A
MICHELL OF THECCHERS, WARNHAM
=============================
John Michell = ?
1485-1520
of Hills, Thecchers & Cocks in Warnham
(now Geerings & Cox's)
Son of John and Margaret Michell
of Stammerham (see Appendix VII)
John of Thecchers = Margaret Ede
d. 1558
d. 1565
(Owned also Swylls, Chekyns & Cocks)
James
of Beeding
d. 1586
John = ?
(of upper Toate &
Itchingfield)
Henry of North Heath
(separate line at Cuckfield
and North Heath)
Anthony = Annie Worsfold
(of Toate & Itchingfield)
Richard
of Abinger
Henry
b.1570
Richard
b.1444
James
William = Elizabeth Lintott
of Horsham
& Rusper
d.1598
Richard
(3 sons)
Elizabeth = Borer
Richard
1549-98
John = Jane Worsfold
of Thecchers
Cocks &
Upper Toate
6 other sons
3 daughters
John
= Jane A'wood
1576-1605
of Theccers, Cocks
Chickens &
Upper Toate
(also owned Dennymeade, Nashland
Slade Land & Northland alias
Brookes and Ghylls)
William
Henry
b.1564
Elizabeth = John Lintott
Nicholas = Alice Pilfold
(dau of John & Mabel
see App. X)
Issue
(see App. X)
4 daughters
Joane
John
=?
1601-58
Thomas
of Warnham
4 daughters
Edward
b.1546
Henry (yeoman) = Margaret Wright
of Warnham
d. 1584
John
b.1567
Thomas = (1) Johanne ?
(2) Margaret Sherwin
James = Ann
of Keymer
James
William
Elizabeth
John
Thomas = Frusanna Pilfold
of Drooks and Ghylls d. 1684
(of Capel &
alias Northlands
Warnham)
d. 1670
APPENDIX XIII B
MICHELL of STAMMERHAM
Junior Branch
Thomas Michell
=?
Second son of Richard Michell
of Field Place & Stammerham
b. 1518
Thomas = Walsingham Colbrand
(of Horsham (of Poynings)
& Rudgwick)
William
Thomas
John
John
= Mary West
(of Harting) (Pulborough)
5 other sons 7 daughters
Edward = Katherine Theobold
1567-1639 (related to Carylls)
Edward
Richard
6 Daughters
including
Philippa
Walsingham = Rev. John Smith
Mary
Elizabeth
Jane
Theobold = Ann Goring Edward
= Mary Middleton
1601-41
of Stammerham
1605-66
Henry
Dorothy
John
Cicely
Walsingham = George Churcher
(Slinfold ?)
Katharine
Edward
Mary
Katharine
Edward
b.1647
John
b.1650
Robert = (1) Margaret White
1653-1729 (2) Theodosia Montagu
of Petersfield
2 daughters
Rev. Theobold = (1) Anne Pilfold
(2) Mary Tredcroft
Theobald
Robert
Katherine = Timothy Shelley
(see App. XI)
Walsingham = Margaret Chatfield
1658-1713
Edward
John
Mary = John Pilfold
Katharine
(1) Mary Katherine = Sir Bysshe Shelley = (2) Elizabeth Jane Sydney
1734-60
(of Penshurst)
Charles Pilfold
of Effingham
APPENDIX VIII C
MICHELL of MAYES* in WARNHAM
============================
Henry Michell = (1637) Mary Vennall
(Yeoman)
d. 1662
John
John = Sarah ?
1687-1753
John
b. 1737
Richard = Jane ?
1649-93
Jane
b.1675
William
Margaret
b.1675
Henry
Mary
b. 1686
Mary
Joane
b.1682
Edward
b. 1739
Note * This is probably Westbrook Hall and not the present Mayes Park
Margaret
b. 1652
Sarah
Anne
Grace
b. 1692
APPENDIX IX.
VICARS OF WARNHAM
=================
1247
1462
1485
1490
1516
1526
1567
1560
1561
1564
1584
1603
1615
1626
16471653
1684
1695
1712
1738
1746
1753
1797
1805
1839
1881
1882
1921
1957
1961
Robert de Dorking
Richard Whitstead
Matthew Warren
John Swinoake
Thomas Jellot
Richard Patensly
Robert Ball
John Northcote
Thomas Call
John Shorter
Henry Patchying (Sir Harry Pachinge, d.1560?)
John Fowler or Fuller
John Swynnerton
John Gray Julian Hayn
Matthew Allen of Horsham? Geo.Grange (Curate) d.1604 app.
Michael Birkhedd
Robert Hobbs
Thomas Holland,M.A. — 1645 (S.N.& ,Vo1.14,p.145)
m. 1625 Joane Hobbs at Houghton.
William Avery, also of Kirdford, d.1684?
Isaac Rushworth
Thomas Pittis, m.Frances Pankhurst of Horsham.
William Harvey
John Bax, d.1748?
Samuel Shuckford, D.D.
Samuel shuckford, B.A.
Richard Harvey. 1796-1803 John Asbridge, Curate.
Evan Edwards
James Wood
C.F. Overton
Richard Bowcott
Felix Farebrother
Michael Daniel
Michael Newman
APPENDIX X
THE PILFOLDS OF WARNHAM
=======================
Richard Pilfold
= Elizabeth ?
Of Warnham
d.1558
(Inherited Blackstrode (Strood)
under Will of Richard Michell
of Field Place)
John
=?
of Baylings
& Rusper
d. 1565
Ralph
=?
of Pinkhurst
b. 1532
(Reversion of
Baylings)
Harry
= ?
of Whites
(Warnham)
and Staplehurst
?
Richard
of Baylings
d.s.p.
Agnes
Mary
?
Anne
John
(The Elder)
d.1580
of Baylings
= ?
Richard = Elizabeth Honesty
(the Elder) of Horsham
d. 1581
(Received lands
in Rusper)
John
= Mary Thornden
(the younger)
of Warnham
of Baylings
(received reversion
of lands in Rusper)
d. 1589
John = ?
b. 1584
John
= ?
1608-59
Mary
Jane = ? Henry Napper
d. 1612
Grace
Judith
APPENDIX XI
The SHELLEYS of WARNHAM
=======================
Henry Shelley = Barbara Cromer
of Worminghurst
d. 1612
d. 1623
Other Issue
Richard Shelley
of Itchingfield &
Thakeham
d. 1673
= Bridget Eversfield
of Denne
Timothy Shelley = (1) 1664 Katherine Michell
(of Champneys,
(dau. Of Edward Michell of
Thakeham)
Stammerham, see App. VIII B
d. 1671
= (2) Mary Cheale = (2) John Michell
d. 1731 (Age 89)
of Field Place
Edmund
John Shelley = Helen Bysshe
2 other sons
(Sir) Timothy = Joane Plum
(3rd son)
of New York
d. 1771
Edward Shelley
1670-1747
(Bought Field Place
from John Michell
(1644-1702)
Thomas
Ann
See Michells of Field Place, App. VII
Ann Shelley = (1) John Michell (see App. VII)
1708 - 40
(2) John Parr
John
= Mary White
Anne = Nichols
Helen Catherine = Miller
Henrietta
of Field Place
(eldest son)
See App. VII, Inherited Manor of Hollands and Warnham Park
1729-1790
Sir Bysshe = (1) Eliz,Jane Sidney
(2) 1752 Mary Catherine Michell
d. 1760
dau. Of Rev Theobold Michell
Sir Timothy = Elizabeth Pilfold
of Field Place
1753-1846
Helen
Percy Bysshe = (1) Harriet Westbroke
1792-1822
= (2) Mary Wollstoncroft Godwin
Jane
Charles Bysshe
Clara
d. inf.
Mary Catherine
John
William
d. inf.
4 daughters
(Helen d. 1796
Elizabeth 1794-1831)
Percy Florence
b. 1819
APPENDIX XII
The AGATES of WARNHAM
======================
SEE SEPARATE DOCUMENT
Explanation
These notes on the Early History of Warnham were compiled for the use of
the Warnham Historical Society by Captain R.A. Villiers CBE RN Retired during
1977-8 as a basis for the formation of the Society, and the possible issue of a
publication.
Sources from which this information was gathered include :
Warnham Parish Records held at Chichester
Sussex Archaeological Collections
Publications of the Sussex Record Society
Warnham Court papers on deposit at C.R.O. Chichester
Victoria County History Vol II
Dallaway & Cartwright – History of the Western Division of the County of
Sussex Vol 2 Part II
Sussex Genealogies – Comber
A Millenium of Facts in the history of Horsham Sussex – William Albery
Tithe Map of 1842 and Apportionment
Enumeration of Schedules of Census Returns for 1841, 51 & 71
Directories (Kelly's) etc.